By KAYOKO GEJI/ Staff Writer
November 18, 2021 at 17:55 JST
A health care professional in Kumamoto Prefecture receives a COVID-19 vaccination. (Motoki Nagasawa)
The health ministry has announced that the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Japan for children from age 5 to 11 is planned to start as early as February.
The ministry notified prefectural and municipal governments of the planned rollout on Nov. 16 and asked them to start preparing.
Pfizer Inc. applied to the health ministry for use of its vaccines for children on Nov. 10, but permission has not been granted yet.
The volume of active substances in Pfizer’s vaccine for children is only a third of those for people aged 12 or older.
The ministry asked those governments to ensure that vaccines for children and adults are handled separately.
It maintained its policy of “not recommending" group vaccinations be given at schools because of peer pressure that could arise among students.
The ministry also asked those governments to arrange the vaccination schedules, procedures and venues based on the area because the number of children differs from area to area.
“It is important to secure opportunities for vaccinations,” an expert said at the health ministry’s panel meeting on Nov. 15.
However, another panel member said, “Serious COVID-19 cases among children in other countries are few, and Japan has no deaths reported for children related to the novel coronavirus.”
Another health expert said, “We should be careful of strongly recommending vaccinations for children.”
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