TOKYO, Nov 17 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s health ministry said today, the COVID-19 vaccination programme is likely to be expanded to children under 12 years in Feb next year, at the earliest.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, notified municipalities across the country to begin preparation for the vaccination programme of kids aged between 5 and 11.
Medical institutions responsible for the programme should fully explain the effectiveness and safety of vaccines to children and their parents or guardians, and obtain their consent, according to the ministry.
Those institutions also need to provide proper initial treatment on the occasion when people being inoculated develops side effects, the ministry said.
The vaccination programme would start, if it receives permit from the government, as a ministry panel is discussing whether the age group should be inoculated.
Last week, U.S. pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, submitted an application of inoculating kids at 5 to 11 years old with the vaccine jointly developed with its German partner BioNTech.
Currently, the government has approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and U.S. drug maker Moderna vaccine, for people aged 12 or older, while the vaccine developed by British firm, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, is limited to be used for people aged 18 or older.– NNN-NHK
