Photo/Illutration A man receives a COVID-19 booster shot at the large-scale vaccination center run by the Self-Defense Forces in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Jan. 31. (Pool)

A large-scale vaccination center run by the Self-Defense Forces reopened in Tokyo on Jan. 31 to accelerate booster shots as record-breaking numbers of COVID-19 cases are surging in the capital.

The number of vaccinations administered will start from 720 people a day. It is scheduled to ramp up by three times to 2,160 from Feb. 7.

The booster rollout started at 8 a.m. as scheduled. After people entered the venue, they were checked by medical personnel about their health conditions and histories and then proceeded to vaccination booths. 

The venue was not congested, and many young people came to the site for their third jabs.

The Moderna Inc. vaccine is being used at the center, which is set up in the Otemachi government building in the capital’s Chiyoda Ward, the same location as last year’s venue.

The SDF previously operated a massive vaccination program there from May to November 2021.

Nine minutes after the center began to accept vaccination bookings for the latest round, all the slots between Jan. 31 and Feb. 5 were filled.

The center will start to take bookings from 6 p.m. on Jan. 31 for booster shots between Feb. 7 and Feb. 13.

The bookings can be made through a special website accessible from the Defense Ministry’s website or by phone.

The center will start accepting reservations every Monday for the following week’s vaccination schedule.

The SDF's Osaka venue will also reopen in the Yagi building in Chuo Ward on Feb. 7.

The number of people who can receive jabs is 960 a day. Bookings for the Osaka venue will begin on Feb. 4.

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