Coronavirus: Japanese hospitals struggle ahead of February vaccine rollout

‘We will exhaust all measures to safeguard the medical system’, Japanese PM says

A man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo (AP)

Japan’s prime minister has said his government will take all necessary measures to protect the nation’s hospitals after doctors warned the healthcare system was on the brink of collapse under the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Japan Medical Association’s president Toshio Nakagawa has warned the country’s medical system was at risk of failing due to the pressure of the virus - with cases and fatalities steadily rising in the East Asian state.

While rates of Covid-19 have remained relatively low compared to those seen in Europe and the Americas, the new year has brought with it steadily increasing numbers - with infections doubling across a month and a half to reach 338,000.

Earlier this week Yoshihide Suga, who took over the nation’s premiership in September, issued a state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures in a bid to stem a resurgence of infections.

“What is important is to provide necessary medical services to people in need. We will exhaust all measures to safeguard the medical system,” he said in his policy speech at the start of a regular session of parliament on Monday.

“We are all ready to deploy the Self-Defence Forces’ medical team if requested by governors.”

Meanwhile the chief of the country’s vaccination programme on has denied media reports that a general rollout of vaccines to the public could begin in  May, with outlets including public broadcaster NHK citing an unnamed government source as being behind the information.

“Oh no, NHK, please don’t go around making vaccination roll-out schedules like that. It’s bogus,” said administrative reform minister Taro Kono, who was selected to spearhead the vaccine roll-out this week, on Twitter.

The government has said it will prioritise medical workers, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions in its vaccine programme, which is expected to start by the end of February pending further approval.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a daily news briefing the “timeline for vaccination for the broader population would be decided after the vaccine is approved”.

It comes after the PM said  vaccines are key to a safe Olympics - which were pushed back last year during the first wave of the virus.

Japan has arranged to buy 540 million doses from multiple Western developers including Pfizer Inc, whose vaccine is expected to be the first to win regulatory approval.

Japan has concluded a contract to buy 144 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine in 2021, the health ministry said on Wednesday, pending domestic approval. That is a 24 million dose increase on an earlier agreement.

Japan has had 345,060 coronavirus cases and 4,749 deaths, NHK reported.

Additional reporting by agencies