Photo/Illutration A call center that schedules appointments for vaccinations in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, handles numerous phone calls questioning the city government’s policy to give prioritized vaccinations to junior and high school students on June 9. (Yoshinori Doi)

INE, Kyoto Prefecture--This small town has been flooded with phone calls from around Japan questioning the decision by officials here to inoculate teenagers against the novel coronavirus.

Town officials contacted the police following one phone call that they deemed a death threat.

Ine, with a population of about 2,000, began vaccinating students aged 12 to 15 on June 6 after the health ministry added the age group to the list of those eligible for free access to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

But the town’s call center dealing with the vaccination schedule has been inundated with phone calls assailing giving a jab to junior high school and other students since June 7, when the news media reported on the town's program.

The call center was forced to shut down 30 minutes after opening at 9 a.m. that day. Town officials said that they received about 110 phone calls, 36 emails and eight faxed texts from across Japan by late at night on June 7.

Many of them were inquiring if it was safe to immunize children, officials said.

But some equated vaccinating children with murder.

An official in charge of the vaccination program blamed the reaction on a lack of understanding about the health ministry's expanded eligibility for receiving jabs.

The town initially planned to vaccinate students across the board, but it has now changed its policy to inoculate only students who wished to receive the shots and whose parents gave consent.

The shift, following numerous calls and emails raising doubts about immunizing the youth, is intended to make it clear that students are receiving shots out of their own choice.

About 50 residents in Ine are aged 12-15.

The town began rolling out a vaccine to residents aged 16 through 64 from May 30, after starting with vaccinations of people aged 65 or older.

Strong reactions against inoculating young students have taken place in other municipalities as well.

Komaki city and Togo town in Aichi Prefecture were met with protests calling for a halt when they announced prioritized vaccination of junior and high school students.

Komaki had received 30 calls and 20 emails as of June 9, two days after the city announced the plan to give inoculations to students.

Officials said most of those calls and emails came from outside the city, including from Tokyo and Nagano Prefecture.

Officials will allow students to get vaccinated only after they and their parents give consent.

The Togo town hall had received more than 100 calls in protest by June 9, after officials said June 4 they would send a vaccination coupon to third-year high school students as a priority.

The callers either questioned the soundness of inoculating teenagers or criticized vaccinating them as they are less likely to develop serious symptoms if they catch the virus.

Okushiri, an island in Hokkaido, is also experiencing a backlash from the public following the town government’s announcement to inoculate high school students who wish to get the shots from as early as late June.

Tetsushi Yoshikawa, professor of pediatrics at Fujita Health University in Aichi Prefecture, underscored the significance of inoculating children.

“Children aged 12 to 15 also need to be given a jab,” he said. “If they are vaccinated, they could avoid class or school closures.”

He also said doctors should fully inform teenagers who are considering getting a shot about the vaccines before allowing them to get one.

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