Vaccination Why is Japan so slow?

[Part 2] May 14, 21:05

"Why is vaccination of the new coronavirus in Japan slow?" We have been interviewing in Japan and the United Kingdom to answer this question.

In the second part, we will talk about issues related to securing vaccines and developing them in the first place.

This was also a problem that has been pointed out for many years.

(Interview group)

Anger of vaccine development researchers

Why is vaccination in Japan delayed?

Here are the answers given by many experts during the interview.

If a domestic vaccine was made

"because it was not made in Japan", the

inoculation would have progressed further.

Speaking of course, it may be natural.

However, there are really big challenges behind it.

The first person I spoke to was Professor Ken Ishii of the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo.

A researcher involved in the development of a domestically produced "mRNA vaccine" together with a major domestic pharmaceutical company.

Professor Ishii says that the delay in vaccine development is a complex and deep-seated problem, including the national support system.

Professor Ken Ishii, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo

"In Europe and the United States, a budget of several trillion yen was invested in early 2020, but at the same time, it was about 10 billion yen in Japan. Development progress Overseas, under a national backup system, the government has been greatly involved in simplifying the procedures required for development, securing facilities for clinical trials, and securing factories. In addition, regulators have been speeding up by conducting examinations in parallel from the development stage, but Japan was "normal". "

Professor Ishii said, "There was not enough awareness in Japan that the urgent development of vaccines against infectious diseases has the significance of security and diplomacy. Basic research on the outbreak of urgent infectious diseases has already made a big difference from 20 years ago. I point out.

Further widening difference

The difference is about to widen.

The cause is the establishment of a system to support the development of medicines that are not profitable for companies but are necessary for the country.

According to Professor Hiroyuki Kunishima of St. Marianna University School of Medicine, for example, in the United Kingdom and Sweden, a system has begun in which the government pays a certain amount of money to guarantee some antibiotics even if a lot of antibiotics are not expected to be sold. about it.

With regard to medical care related to national security, each country has established a system to actively support it.

Social "vaccine repellent"

On the other hand, as the background of the problem, some people pointed out the recognition of "vaccine" among the people and complained to the media.

Haruka Sakamoto, Specially Appointed Researcher, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo

"In Japan, there is a deep-rooted" vaccine repellent "among the people. Furthermore, the media has reported that it is inspiring. I think a fairly cautious system has been created for vaccines. "

A former executive of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare also says that domestic development started from a minus.

Former Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare executive

"Critiques of past vaccination health hazards have tended to increase the public's evasion of vaccines over the last few decades. While the risk of litigation is high, temperature control and shelf life Considering the shortness, it takes time and effort, and some companies have withdrawn due to lower incentives for development. Compared to overseas, I feel that the physical strength of domestic manufacturers is weaker in terms of both human resources and technology. "

Currently, four pharmaceutical companies are in clinical trials for vaccine development in Japan.

Some want to get approval during this time.

As we have seen in this interview, various issues have emerged regarding the securing of vaccines in Japan.

In response, government officials insist that "the number of vaccines that Japan has secured is not significantly inferior to that of countries with similar infections."

Securing vaccine

How did Britain secure the vaccine?

This plan, which Prime Minister Johnson positions as "the largest vaccination program in history".

The preparation started last spring.

In the UK, the government launched a "task force" for vaccination planning last April.

A public-private integrated organization whose main members are former executives of major pharmaceutical companies, etc., to secure vaccines.

In May last year, we secured 100 million doses of vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca, a major pharmaceutical company headquartered in the United Kingdom, and Oxford University, a prestigious university in the United Kingdom.

Since then, we have been securing vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna one after another, and so far we have secured eight types of vaccines for more than 500 million doses.

The population of the United Kingdom is just under 67 million, so it is calculated that it is nearly four times as much as necessary.

All vaccines were secured at the clinical trial stage, and it was unclear whether the development would be successful.

For this reason, instead of relying on one type, we secured different types of vaccines manufactured by different methods.

As of May 6, the UK has secured a total of 517 million vaccines.

Vaccine development

The United Kingdom has also provided support for vaccine development and production.

Oxford University began developing the vaccine last January as soon as the infection in China was reported.

In April, it announced that it would proceed with development with AstraZeneca to secure a large-scale production system.

In fact, Oxford University was initially considering joint development with a major American pharmaceutical company, but the British government, which was concerned about the possibility of "locking in" such as restricting exports by the US government, produced it domestically. It is reported to have promoted development with AstraZeneca, which has a base.

This is because if it can be manufactured and supplied domestically, it is more reliable than importing it.

The British government announced in May last year that it would support Oxford University with £ 65.5 million for vaccine development.

In addition, it was revealed that the vaccine was secured for 100 million doses.

Since then, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford has been approved and inoculated, and Prime Minister Johnson has repeatedly appealed that it is a "victory of British science."

In the UK, in addition to AstraZeneca, there are also Vaccine production bases for Barneva and Novabax, which are expected to be supplied in the future.

The Barneva base has already announced that it will provide millions of pounds of support.

In 2018, we announced the establishment of a national vaccine research and manufacturing base, aiming to start operation by the end of the year.

The British government said, "These investments will make the UK more attractive as a business base for vaccine developers," and there are speculations about preparing for a future pandemic.

Approval is also quick

In addition, the procedure for vaccine approval was expedited.

The UK approved the vaccine developed by Pfizer and others in December last year, the earliest in the world.

In a situation where the spread of infection is serious, a procedure called "rolling review" was used to expedite approval.

This means that if it is judged to be urgent from the viewpoint of public health, examinations will be conducted sequentially even if all the data on the safety and efficacy of clinical trials are not available. is.

This time, the same procedure was carried out in the EU = European Union.

In the case of Pfizer's vaccine, the UK government began reviewing Pfizer's clinical trials in October.

As a result, it led to the announcement of approval on December 2.

In Japan, an application for approval was submitted on December 18th.

Similarly, the clinical trials for 160 patients conducted in Japan were reviewed and approved on February 14, when all the data were not available.

In the UK, safety and other issues will be reviewed in a year's time.

Regulators have repeatedly emphasized that even urgent measures are being rigorously reviewed for safety.

The British government has announced every time it secures a vaccine, but early last year it also had conditions such as "if development succeeds."

There was also a view that it was a "big gambling" in the attitude of investing a lot of money to support and secure development without knowing the success or failure of development.

However, Britain was severely hit by the new coronavirus for over a year, and the Johnson administration was severely criticized for being late in government measures when the infection spread last year.

Given this situation, Prime Minister Johnson is believed to have taken swift action to secure the vaccine.

The Japanese government ...

The Japanese government has "allocated more than 300 billion yen for research and development of domestic vaccines and support for clinical trials with multiple supplementary budgets. We would like to build a system that can handle not only new coronaviruses but also various infectious diseases." It is said.

The future of Japan

A pandemic of the new coronavirus that started about a year ago.

During this time, countries around the world have been working on vaccine development and are now working on vaccination.

Japan is one such country.

The pandemic was a sudden event for every country.

And for every country, the strength that we have cultivated so far is being tested.

Still, it's impressive that we started securing vaccination venues and personnel in the UK last summer.

Government efforts to secure and develop vaccines, systems led by government agencies without leaving it to local governments, efforts to avoid confusion, centralized management of information and smooth reservations online.

The UK case poses many challenges to us.

When it comes to vaccines, safety is a major premise.

The Japanese government says that vaccine supply will accelerate at a stretch from May.

Is it possible to proceed smoothly with this unprecedented large-scale vaccination?

And how much can we prepare for the next infectious disease?

Reporter of the Ministry of Science and Culture

Ima Mitani

Joined the

station in

2009

After working at the Tokushima station and Osaka station, he

was in charge of the

incumbent

medical field.

Reporter of the Social Affairs Department

Ayumi Kurokawa

Joined the

station in

2009.

After working at the Kumamoto station and Fukuoka station, he

mainly covered the medical and social security fields.

Ayumu Takahashi,

Reporter, Social Affairs Department

Joined in

2014

After working at the Matsuyama Bureau, he is

mainly in charge of the medical and social security fields.

Reporter of the Social Affairs Department

Sayaka Kobayashi

Joined the

station in

2007.

After working at the Kitakyushu Bureau and Fukuoka Bureau, she is in

charge of the

current

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Mari Mukai,

Director of London Bureau

Joined in 1998

After working at the International Department and Sydney Bureau, she is currently in charge of British politics and social issues.