Regarding whether to review the treatment of the novel coronavirus under the Infectious Diseases Act, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Kato said that it is important to aim for normalization of economic and social activities, and will respond appropriately in a timely manner based on the opinions of local governments and medical institutions. I showed my thoughts on the future.
Regarding whether to lower the treatment of the new corona under the Infectious Diseases Act to the same position as seasonal influenza, Prime Minister Kishida last month announced his intention to carefully consider the timing of the review while assessing the characteristics of the virus. I'm here.
Regarding this, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Kato said at a press conference, ``The new corona measures will be reviewed step by step while paying close attention to the infection situation and the trend of the occurrence of mutant strains, and normalization of socioeconomic activities as soon as possible. It's important to aim," he said.
After that, "At the moment, we are not in a position to say anything concrete about the schedule and contents of the review, but we will proceed with the work firmly and respond appropriately in a timely manner based on the opinions of local governments such as the National Governors' Association and medical institutions. I want to try," he said.
Regarding vaccination against the Omicron strain, he said, "We would like to proceed with coordination with pharmaceutical companies based on future data and trends in other countries, and work to start it as soon as possible. We will carefully explain the procurement situation to the local government, I don't want any confusion," he said.