Japan to Allow 6-Month Interval for COVID-19 Booster Shots

Tokyo, Nov. 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan's health ministry decided Monday that the third shots of Pfizer Inc.'s novel coronavirus vaccine will be administered to people who have had their last shots six months before, at the discretion of local governments. But in principle, the booster shots will be administered at least eight months after the second shots. The ministry also decided to administer the booster shots to all willing people aged 18 and older free of charge as "temporary vaccinations" under the Immunization Act. The plans were approved by a ministry expert panel the same day. The COVID-19 booster shots will be administered from next month, and the period for administering the third shots will be prolonged from until February 2022 to until September the same year. For the time being, the vaccine manufactured by U.S. drug giant Pfizer will be used for the booster shots. The ministry will decide whether to use the vaccine of U.S. biotechnology startup Moderna Inc. for the third shots if the vaccine obtains regulatory approval. For the booster shots, the ministry will also authorize the use of a vaccine different from one used in the first two shots. The expert panel agreed to set the standard interval between second and third shots at eight months or longer, but made it possible for municipalities to administer the booster shots six months after the second in the event that the state of coronavirus infections in Japan worsens. The booster shot program comes after foreign research showed that the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccine declines six months after the second shot. The government will make leaflets to call on medical workers, elderly people and others with high risks of suffering from COVID-19 to take the booster shot. It will continue to offer shots to those who have yet to receive any inoculations. END