[ad_1]
TOKYO (Xinhua): The advisory body to the Japanese Ministry of Health approved on Friday (October 2) a policy to provide all citizens of Japan with a free dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in a measure designed to combat the spread of the virus. .
Amid constant uncertainty about how many doses of a vaccine may need to be administered to be effective, the policy at this stage refers to the starting dose for the Japanese public.
According to a ministry official and as reported by local media here, it has not yet been officially decided whether foreign residents in Japan will be covered by the policy, despite the vast majority of foreign residents here in paid employment paying by the National Health. Sure in the same way as the Japanese.
The ministry official added, however, that from his personal point of view, foreigners should be eligible for the vaccine in the interest of public health.
The government has said that by the first half of 2021 it expects to have obtained enough vaccines with a budget of 671.4 billion yen (US $ 6.4 billion) to secure and administer enough vaccines to all members of the public.
It has agreed with the British pharmaceutical AstraZeneca Plc. to receive 120 million doses of a possible Covid-19 vaccine that is being developed with the University of Oxford.
Similarly, Japan has agreed with Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE to receive 120 million doses of its potential vaccine, provided its development is successful.
Japan is also negotiating with US firm Moderna Inc. for at least 40 million doses of its candidate vaccine.
[ad_2]
