TOKYO: Japan will vaccinate schoolchildren aged 12 to 15 against the novel coronavirus during the summer break, regulatory reform minister Taro Kono said Sunday.

The government hopes to make sure that vaccinations for the age group are carried out during the summer break so that children can return to school without worries about coronavirus infections, Kono said in a television program.

He added that the education ministry will release related guidelines in the near future.

Last month, the health ministry lowered the minimum age for US drugmaker Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine to 12 from 16.

Kono said, “It is now known that age causes little difference in the efficacy or safety of the vaccine.”

“Coronavirus vaccinations are not compulsory, so I don’t think that mass vaccinations during school hours will be carried out,” Kono also said.

Inoculations of elderly people aged 65 or over will be completed in most municipalities by the end of July, Kono said, adding that about 30 pct of the country’s total population will be vaccinated by that time, including those receiving vaccine shots at workplaces.

The number of coronavirus vaccine shots administered daily seems to have already reached the target of one million set by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Kono observed.

JIJI Press