Japan gave, Sunday February 14, its first green light for a vaccine against the coronavirus, that developed by Pfizer, paving the way for the launch of a vaccination campaign five months before the opening of the Summer Olympics.
"Today the Minister of Health gave a special green light to Pfizer's vaccine," the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet.
Japan is set to start administering the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine to 10,000 to 20,000 healthcare workers starting Wednesday, before expanding vaccination to other healthcare workers and the elderly from April, also using other coronavirus vaccines.
>> To read also: "Cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics: 'Nobody wants to be the one who announces it'"
An optional vaccine for Olympic athletes
The government has yet to present its strategy to extend vaccines to the rest of its population, which is 126 million.
The organizers of the Olympics have repeatedly assured that the Games, which should have been held last summer, would take place in July regardless of the state of the pandemic elsewhere in the world.
Athletes and accompanying persons will be encouraged to be vaccinated, but not forced.
With AFP
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