Photo/Illutration A child receives a flu vaccine shot in Tokyo. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Pharmaceutical companies will supply a record number of seasonal influenza vaccine doses this winter to inoculate 70.4 million adults, a health ministry estimate showed.

The move comes as the flu is spreading in Australia, which is already in winter, raising fears of a possible simultaneous outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the flu during the winter in Japan as well. It would further strain the health care system.

Studies showed it is safe to receive COVID-19 and flu vaccine shots at the same time, said Satoshi Kamayachi, an executive board member of the Japan Medical Association, at a news conference on Aug. 31.

Kamayachi, who is also a member of the ministry’s expert panel on vaccination, said there was a need to set up medical institutions where people can be inoculated against the novel coronavirus and the flu, making for an efficient rollout of the vaccines.

The ministry presented the figure on flu vaccine supplies at a meeting of the panel on Aug. 31.

The data showed shipments of flu vaccine doses will cover an estimated 33.4 million people on Oct. 1. It would be enough to inoculate most of the roughly 36.4 million people aged 65 or older in the nation, according to the ministry.

Concerns about a possible outbreak of the flu during the novel coronavirus pandemic were also raised in Japan two years ago.

The nation averted that scenario as many people took precautions against the novel coronavirus, including disinfecting their hands and wearing a mask.

That may not be the case this winter, however, since the government has eased anti-virus restrictions on both domestic and overseas travel.

(This article was written by Kai Ichino and Hayato Murai.)

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