October 25

Japan is set to roll out coronavirus vaccines for children aged six months to four years.

The health ministry will begin to distribute the vaccines to municipalities on Monday. Tokyo's Minato Ward says it will offer inoculations starting the following day.

The ministry approved the Pfizer vaccine for that age group this month. The US drug firm had applied for the authorization in July.

Ministry officials say the young children will require three shots, each containing one-tenth of the dose given to adults. 

Pfizer said clinical tests were conducted when the Omicron variant was predominant, and it confirmed that the vaccine was 73.2 percent effective in preventing the onset of infection, seven days after the third dose.

The drug firm also said side effects included fevers of 38 degrees Celsius or higher and decreased appetite, but most of them were mild or moderate.

The ministry expanded the vaccination program to include children aged 5 to 11 in February.

The officials are calling on municipalities to make sure that people are fully informed.

NHK