Fukuoka Starts Giving COVID-19 Booster Shots to Elderly

From Jiji Press

January 5 2022

FUKUOKA –The southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka began to give a third shot of novel coronavirus vaccines Wednesday, earlier than initially planned, to residents aged 65 or over.

A growing number of Japanese municipalities are moving up the administration of COVID-19 booster shots to the elderly, including those who are not residents of care facilities, amid an increase in the number of infection cases apparently linked to the highly contagious omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.

The moving up of the schedules for the booster shots came after the Japanese government decided to shorten the interval between the second and third shots to seven months from eight.

In Fukuoka, the capital of Fukuoka Prefecture, booster shots are available at two large sites, including a gym in Chuo Ward, which use the vaccine from U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna Inc., and at some 800 clinics, using U.S. drug giant Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine. The number of mass vaccination venues will be increased to eight later.

“The vaccines are believed to be effective against omicron, so we want people to get vaccinated quickly,” a Fukuoka city government official said.