TOKYO: Of people in Japan who had been vaccinated for COVID-19 at least once, around 54 percent said they want to receive their fourth novel coronavirus vaccine shots, a private-sector survey has shown.

The survey by Nexer Inc. was conducted online between March 24 and April 6. It covered 1,200 people throughout Japan.

According to the survey, 42.9 percent of the respondents said they were done with their third round of coronavirus vaccine shots, while 41.2 percent said they received their second COVID-19 shots and 0.2 percent said they had been vaccinated once.

Those who had never been vaccinated against COVID-19 accounted for 15.8 percent.

Of the 1,011 people who had received their COVID-19 vaccines at least once, 53.7 percent said they would like to be vaccinated for the fourth time, if the Japanese government begins the fourth round of vaccinations. The government is currently preparing to administer the 4th doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

A total of 16.1 pct said they do not want to receive the fourth shots, while 30.2 percent said they were undecided.

As for reasons why they want to be vaccinated for the fourth time, some people said they felt the vaccines were effective as they did not test positive for COVID-19 even though they had come into close contact with coronavirus carriers.

Others said they feel the need to keep receiving their vaccines until the arrival of an effective COVID-19 treatment.

On the other hand, several respondents said they do not want to receive their fourth COVID-19 shots as they suffered heavy side effects from previous vaccinations. Some said they feel there was no end to the vaccinations.

JIJI Press