Photo/Illutration Medical personnel receive the booster vaccination against novel coronavirus infections in Kyoto in December. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The health ministry plans to start providing fourth shots of COVID-19 vaccine as early as May to prevent a resurgence in cases.

An advisory panel of health experts approved the plan to give the second booster shots, using the vaccines of Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., at a meeting on March 24. But panel members said many details still need to be worked out.

The ministry will ask local governments to prepare for the program, such as creating vouchers for the fourth shots.

The panel will discuss the required interval between the third dose and the fourth dose, as well as who will be covered under the program and given priority.

Panel members will study the situation in overseas countries that have already started giving fourth shots.

According to the health ministry, the efficacy in preventing hospitalizations continues to a certain degree after the third dose, but the vaccine’s ability to prevent the development of COVID-19 weakens considerably as time passes.

The effectiveness and safety of the fourth doses remain unclear.

But some non peer-reviewed research reports said the fourth inoculations can raise the effectiveness of preventing infections or developing serious symptoms, a health ministry official said.

Israel, Germany, Britain and other countries have been giving fourth shots mainly to people considered at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms. The shots are administered five to six months after the third doses.

A senior official of the health ministry noted that Israel requires a five-month interval between the third and fourth shots, meaning that Japan should be able to give the second boosters as early as May.

Although the expert panel agreed to start preparations of the free-of-charge vaccination program, some members urged caution.

“The significance of the fourth vaccination is unclear,” one member said.

Another member warned against rushing the fourth shots.

“The rate for third vaccinations just topped 30 percent. Discussions on the fourth vaccination can be deepened only after enough information is provided to the people,” the expert said.

Takaji Wakita, chairman of the advisory panel and head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, also commented on the vaccination plan.

“We should think about vaccination efforts from a broader perspective, such as how we see vaccines for future anti-virus measures and how we consider the purposes of vaccinations,” he said.

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