THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
May 13, 2021 at 17:28 JST
The Aichi prefectural police department’s building (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
NAGOYA—A 66-year-old truck driver was arrested after he smashed the glass entrance door of a hospital in anger at being denied an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Aichi prefectural police said May 12.
The suspect, who lives in Anjo in the prefecture, has admitted to the allegations of vandalism, police said.
He tried to make a reservation for a COVID-19 vaccine shot at the hospital in Anjo, but his request was declined because he “was not a regular outpatient, and the hospital was unable to know his health condition,” according to the prefectural police’s Anjo Station.
Infuriated by the rejection, the man kicked the door and shattered the glass around 8:30 a.m. on May 12, police said.
The door was 1.8 meter high and 1.1 meter wide, police said.
Municipal governments and hospitals nationwide started accepting reservations for the vaccine from people 65 years old or older on May 12.
However, demand has far exceeded supply of the vaccine in many areas. Seniors have said they are only getting busy signals when they phone their local governments to make reservations.
Some elderly people are reportedly so desperate to receive the shots that they have engaged in shoving and shouting matches with local government officials and health care workers.
Seniors trying to reserve vaccines grow frustrated by busy signals
May 11, 2021
NTT forced to stop vaccine calls from knocking out phone lines
May 10, 2021
Ad with bamboo spears, virus was message ‘not to repeat mistakes’
May 13, 2021
City apologizes for prioritizing company chief, wife for vaccines
May 11, 2021
Who’s first? Medical workers, elderly vie for scarce vaccines
April 22, 2021
Shortages of doses, nurses plague COVID-19 vaccine rollout
April 13, 2021
Stories about memories of cherry blossoms solicited from readers
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series on the death of a Japanese woman that sparked a debate about criminal justice policy in the United States
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
