Regarding the infections, the Shizuoka Municipal Government on June 16 apologized for and withdrew comments it had made the previous day that weakened immune systems after inoculations were responsible for the coronavirus cluster at the nursing home.
Japanese athletes competing in this summer’s Tokyo Paralympics started receiving COVID-19 vaccine shots on Thursday.
Those who received shots Thursday included Junichi Kawai, president of the Japanese Paralympic Committee and chief of the Japanese delegation for the Tokyo Paralympics.
All 1,741 municipalities in the country expect to complete inoculating residents aged 65 and older by the end of next month, said the sources who reviewed a government survey on the matter.
A survey found that four cities — including Sakai, Osaka Prefecture — have administered a first shot to over 50% of their populations, while another 14 cities — including Yamaguchi — have cleared the 40% threshold. Rounding out the bottom of the list were 15 municipalities where fewer than 20% of elderly residents had received their first shot.
Visually impaired people in Japan are struggling to book COVID-19 vaccinations, as they are often unable to recognize promptly the arrival of a vaccination voucher.
COVID-19 vaccinations for residents of Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures aged 65 or over began Monday at the Osaka mass vaccination site operated by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, a move that brought the number of prefectures covered by SDF-run vaccination venues to seven.
A deaf man, 33, living in Nagoya City, who was infected with the new coronavirus and requested hotel treatment, was rejected by Aichi Prefecture, saying it was difficult for him to communicate by telephone. The ‘All Japan Federation of the Deaf’ submitted a request for improvement to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the ministry will consider asking local governments not to exclude hearing-impaired people from hotel treatment.
A private-sector survey has shown that 63 pct of the elderly prefer using the telephone to book their COVID-19 vaccinations while 37 pct like the internet and the Line messaging app better.
On May 25, Fukushima Prefecture held an online training session on countermeasures against the new coronavirus for employees of facilities for the elderly and disabled. The purpose was to prevent the outbreak of clusters. This is the first time that a prefectural government has held a training session for elderly welfare facilities and support facilities for the disabled.
The Sapporo metropolitan government announced that cluster was confirmed at a welfare service office for the disabled, where six people were infected, including four employees and two clients.
Barrier Free Japan