TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Monday made clear again that vaccinations against the novel coronavirus will start for medical workers Wednesday.

“We’ll make utmost efforts to deliver safe and effective vaccines to the people as early as possible,” Suga told a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Japan’s parliament.

On Sunday, US drugmaker Pfizer Inc. became the first to win health ministry approval of a novel coronavirus vaccine for use in Japan.

Regarding a decrease in new infection cases under the country’s second COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and some other areas, Suga said the effects of coronavirus countermeasures are “clearly visible.”

Noting that cluster infections are increasing at facilities for the elderly, Suga pledged to implement the measures thoroughly to ensure that new cases decline further, so that the emergency can be lifted.

JIJI Press