(Corrects AstraZeneca comment)
By Chang-Ran Kim
TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - Japan expanded a state of
emergency to cover the southern island of Okinawa on Friday, as
authorities approved two more coronavirus vaccines to speed a
lagging inoculation campaign.
The newly approved vaccines, from Moderna Inc and
AstraZeneca PLC, will join the one co-developed by
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE in a vaccination
drive that began in mid-February.
Earlier media said the government would hold off on the use
of AstraZeneca's vaccine because of concerns over blood clots
and bleeding in some. The company said it was aware of the
government's decision that its vaccine would not be immediately
used.
"We'll do our utmost in working to ensure that all elderly
people who seek vaccinations can get their two shots by the end
of July," Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is leading
the coronavirus response effort, told reporters.
Japan has vaccinated just 4.1% of its population, according
to Reuters' global tracker https://tmsnrt.rs/3vbj5CE, the
slowest rate among the world's larger, rich countries.
In contrast to some other Group of Seven (G7) nations that
are beginning to end pandemic-busting lockdown measures, much of
Japan remains under emergency curbs amid a fourth wave of
infections.
On Friday, the government added Okinawa to its list of nine
prefectures placed under the strictest emergency measures. They
include Tokyo, where the Olympic Games are due to start in about
two months.
JAPAN INC, PUBLIC FEARS OVER OLYMPICS
Fears that the Olympics would turn into a super-spreader
event have persisted, ensuring opposition by the majority of the
public to holding the Games this year.
A Reuters corporate survey https://jp.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-japan-companies-poll/fretting-about-covid-most-japan-firms-say-olympics-should-be-cancelled-or-postponed-reuters-poll-idUSKCN2D12SZ
published on Friday showed nearly 70% of Japanese firms also
want the Games either cancelled or postponed.
The state of emergency for Okinawa would run for about a
month, from Sunday through June 20, Prime Minister Yoshihide
Suga said, beyond the May 31 end-point of the other nine.
It is the third consecutive week that Japan is expanding the
state of emergency. With about 695,000 infections and 12,000
deaths, Japan is finding its medical system increasingly
strained by a spike in more infectious variants.
With the Olympics starting on July 23, Tokyo is under
particular pressure to cut infections and the strain on the
medical system and emerge from the emergency on schedule this
month.
After a 30-minute meeting with Suga on Friday, Tokyo
Governor Yuriko Koike said she sought vaccine supplies for the
capital, which begins mass vaccinations next week.
The two agreed to work towards a "safe and secure" Olympics
this summer, they later told reporters.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Additional reporting by Rocky
Swift, Ritsuko Ando and Ju-Min Park; Editing by Christopher
Cushing and Clarence Fernandez)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
