TOKYO. KAZINFORM Japan on Tuesday began coronavirus vaccinations for children aged six months to 4 years at a Tokyo hospital, expanding eligibility criteria for inoculation to almost all age groups, KYODO reports.
Vaccinations of young children and young people in other parts of the country are expected to be maintained as soon as local governments are ready, as vaccine deliveries began the day before.
Children will need to receive a total of 3 doses of the vaccine, which targets the original strain discovered in Wuhan, China, in 2019, to reach a similar immunity point to other age groups.
The first and current injection will be administered 3 weeks apart, while the third inoculation will be administered at least 8 weeks after the current injection.
The inoculation may be given at the same time as the flu vaccine, but no other vaccines may be given, in principle, during the two weeks before and after vaccination.
Although the vaccine, produced through Pfizer Inc. et BioNTech SE, did not particularly evolve to combat the highly contagious variant of Omicron, clinical trials have shown the vaccine to be effective, with an efficacy of around 73%.
Clinical trials also found that 16% of children older than 6 months to less than 2 years reported arm pain, while 7% in the same age organization developed fever after inoculation.
Among older children aged 2 to 4, 27 percent experienced arm pain and 25 percent reported fatigue, but Japan’s fitness ministry said peak side effects were mild and there were no protection issues.
At a hospital in Tokyo’s Minato district, 2-year-old Yui Iwami shot her mother, Yumiko, in the lap, who she said was involved in the “eighth wave” of coronavirus infections, which are expected to spread at the same time as seasonal flu.
“I made sure my daughter got the vaccine to prevent her from getting seriously ill. I arrived here on the first day because I couldn’t wait to vaccinate her,” says the 36-year-old mother.
According to the government, all 20 reserves for the day’s shots have been filled.
Inoculation of younger children began after an increase in the number of children who died or suffered severe symptoms, as the spread of the Omicron variant led to a sharp increase in infections.
An education report showed that about 60 percent of children who developed moderate or severe symptoms of infections since July were under the age of five, according to the Department of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Photo: english. kyodonews. net