Japan Set to Approve Vaccine Booster Shots for All, Kyodo Says

(Bloomberg) -- A panel of advisers to Japan’s health ministry recommended making third Covid-19 booster shots available to everyone in the country who has already received two vaccine doses, Kyodo News reported, citing a meeting held on Thursday.

The plan is for recipients to get their booster shot at least eight months after their second dose, Kyodo said. The ministry had already decided it would provide boosters to at least some groups, with health-care workers set to get their third doses as soon as December.

Japan’s vaccination drive has overtaken peers including the U.S., U.K. and Germany, although it still lags other economies such as China and France. More than 77% of Japan’s population have had at least one dose and 71% have had two. Japan is using vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc.  

In the U.S., Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients aged 65 and older can receive a third shot, as can adults who are at high risk of severe Covid or with frequent institutional or occupational exposure to the virus that causes the disease. All Johnson & Johnson recipients 18 and older are eligible for a booster shot at least two months after receiving their first dose.

The FDA also allowed all authorized vaccines to be used as a booster for eligible individuals following a complete initial course with a different vaccine. 

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