Photo/Illutration Health care professionals at the Tokyo Medical Center wait for possible side effects to emerge after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 17. (Pool)

Health care professionals lined up for inoculations against COVID-19 on Feb. 17, when Japan’s vaccination program, described by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as the “game changer” in the pandemic, got under way.

The first round of shots will cover tens of thousands of health care professionals at about 100 medical institutions using the vaccine jointly developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech, a German biocommerce company.

The vaccination procedure was opened to media representatives at the Tokyo Medical Center under the National Hospital Organization in the capital’s Meguro Ward.

Kazuhiro Araki, the center chief, said the injection was not very painful.

“In order to provide adequate medical care, there is a need to take every measure to prevent a spread of infections within our hospital,” Araki said. “I felt there was a need to take the lead in getting vaccinated as a measure against the novel coronavirus.”

Although surveys show much of the public remains concerned about the safety of the vaccine, Yukihiko Momiyama, the deputy hospital head who is in charge of the vaccinations at the institution, said medical staff were eager to receive the shots.

“Many of our staff members asked to be vaccinated because of their sense of crisis based on constantly facing the threat of infection within the community as well as within our hospital,” Momiyama said. “They also hold a sense of mission as health care professionals. We came up with our vaccination schedule while taking into consideration the continued provision of normal medical care.”

Government officials initially estimated between 10,000 and 20,000 health care professionals would be the first to be vaccinated. But like the Tokyo Medical Center, demand among medical staff around Japan was so high that the figure was upgraded to about 40,000.

A meeting room at the center was used for the vaccinations. Recipients had to first fill out forms about their physical condition. After the shots, they had to wait about 15 minutes at the meeting room to ensure that no side effects emerged.

The center has about 1,800 doctors, nurses, clerical and other staff, 800 of whom will be vaccinated under the prioritized program until March 31. Each individual will receive two doses.

A questionnaire was distributed to staff members in January, and 85 percent of respondents expressed their wishes to be vaccinated under the advanced program.

But only about 60 people at the center will be vaccinated a day to guard against staff shortages if members suffer side effects and need time off.

Surgeons and doctors scheduled to see out-patients will not be vaccinated the day before such work. Nurses will be vaccinated a day before their days off.

The government picked health care professionals as the first to receive vaccinations because they are at high risk of infection from their frequent contact with COVID-19 patients. The first round of vaccinations is intended to prevent in-patients from catching the virus and to secure an adequate medical care structure.

Of the 40,000 or so health care professionals around Japan who will receive the vaccine, 20,000 who have given their consent will be monitored for possible side effects.

For seven weeks in total after the two doses are given, they will have to record their temperatures, the condition of the skin where they were vaccinated and their overall physical condition. The results of those reports will be publicized.

Vaccinations of the 3.7 million or so other health care professionals will begin in March, but that schedule could be moved up depending on the availability of vaccines.

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