Photo/Illutration Crowds at the Shibuya Scramble Crossing near Shibuya Station in Tokyo on April 5 (Koichiro Yoshida)

The popular square in front of the Hachiko statue near Shibuya Station in Tokyo was packed with young people on the evening of April 5.

One of them, a 20-year-old student who is attending a vocational school, was drinking a canned highball outdoors with a friend. 

“I'm not scared anymore about getting infected,” he said. 

The student said he has not had a booster shot yet.

“It's annoying trying to get an appointment for a shot,” he said. “There were people who went out for a drink even when pre-emergency measures were imposed. Even if I'm careful, it won’t make a difference anyway.”

Local authorities are scrambling to get people in their 20s inoculated with booster shots as the number of COVID-19 cases in this age group is spiking again in many parts of the country.

A 21-year-old college student near the Hachiko statue said he was on his way to drink with his three friends from high school.

“I believe it's fine to go out for a drink as long as we take precautionary measures,” he said.

The rise comes at a time when many schools and companies are scheduling numerous events and ceremonies in April, the beginning of fiscal 2022.

Like the capital, Osaka Prefecture is seeing an upward trend in cases among the younger generations. 

A 23-year-old saleswoman working at a clothing shop in Osaka said she has not received a single dose of the vaccine as she worries she would be forced to take a day off due to possible side effects.

“If I were absent from work due to side effects for two days, I would lose sales,” she said. “If my job requires proof of vaccination, I would get inoculated, but I simply don't see any benefit in getting a dose.”

The increasing mobility among younger generations has raised concerns among health official about a rebound in coronavirus caseloads as the sixth wave of infections, which began in early January, was driven by how quickly it spread among people in their 20s.

Patients in their 20s accounted for nearly 40 percent of the nation’s total of new cases in early January, according to data by the health ministry.

It had declined after the virus spread to other age groups.

The rate had stayed under 15 percent since early February, but it topped 15 percent in late March, making it the third-highest following children ages 9 and younger and people ages 10-19.

The Asahi Shimbun data showed people in their 20s accounted for 20.9 percent of the overall caseloads in Tokyo over the week until April 4, becoming the largest age group of patients for the first time in about two months.

Signs of a possible rebound in new cases are being seen in all age groups in recent days.

Containing infections among people in their 20s through vaccination is key to keeping the pandemic under control.

A rise in patients in their 20s served as a bellwether for the emerging sixth wave of infections in Tokyo, like elsewhere in the country.

Yet youths are slow to receive boosters.

Data as of April 3 by the metropolitan government found that while Tokyo’s overall booster rate was 43.6 percent for those eligible, the figure for people ages 20-29 was 24.7 percent, the lowest of all age groups except for people 10-19.

“They may be thinking they don't need a booster shot as being infected with the Omicron variant is believed to not likely lead to serious complications,” said a metropolitan health official. 

It is unclear why this age group opts out of boosters, however, according to experts.

The rate in Osaka Prefecture for the same age group is also low for booster shots, at 16.1 percent as of April 3.

An official with the Osaka prefectural government said one reason may be strong side effects that young people experience more often compared with other age groups.

There were 4,888 patients ages 20-29 over the week through April 3, up about 25 percent from the figure for the preceding week.

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The Asahi Shimbun