Tokyo mass vaccination site starts giving shots to police and other officials

A state-run mass coronavirus vaccination site in Tokyo started giving shots to police officers and others in charge of crisis management on Monday in addition to older people nationwide to fill vacant slots, the government said.

The move comes as many slots remain vacant at the Tokyo venue and another state-run mass inoculation site in Osaka although the government has started allowing bookings from older people outside prefectures around Tokyo and Osaka.

People now eligible for vaccine shots at the Tokyo venue are members of the Self-Defense Forces, the National Police Agency, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency and Japan Coast Guard.

Over 60% of the slots remain vacant for two weeks through June 27, with the Tokyo site having capacity to administer 10,000 shots daily and Osaka 5,000. The two venues are run by SDF personnel.

As slots at the Osaka venue are filled through Wednesday, the government will consider starting to give shots to SDF members and other eligible people starting Thursday or later depending on the number of unfilled slots, government officials said.

“We are targeting officials in charge of crisis management such as disaster response as a temporary measure to effectively utilize inoculation capacity,” a Defense Ministry official said.

Top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said Monday the mass vaccination sites will start allowing bookings from people age under 65 with pre-existing conditions if reservations at the venues remain sluggish.

“The timing and steps are being worked out at the Defense Ministry,” Kato said at a news conference.

The two state-run venues were initially set up to give vaccine shots to people age 65 or above living in the capital and the neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, as well as in Osaka and nearby Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures.

“I am grateful I could be vaccinated here. The staff were kind and I think its goodness is not being known. The government should promote this place more,” said 74-year-old Takayoshi Sano, who traveled to the Tokyo venue from Ibaraki Prefecture, adding he would have needed to wait until July to be vaccinated in his municipality.

At the Osaka venue, 65-year-old Masazumi Matsushima, who said it took an hour to travel from Nara, added, “When I think of the travel distance, it’s best to receive a shot from my doctor, but I couldn’t get a reservation. I wanted to be vaccinated as early as possible.”

The inoculation drive at the mass vaccination centers come in tandem with shots being administered at municipalities nationwide, mainly to health care workers and older people.