18 Dec

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is the first supplier to seek approval in Japan for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer says it applied to the Japanese health ministry on Friday. It is seeking fast-track approval that requires much simpler steps than conventional screening.

The vaccine, developed jointly by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, is already rolling out across the United States and Britain.

The Japanese government and Pfizer earlier reached a basic agreement. It stipulates the firm will supply enough vaccine to inoculate 60 million people by the end of June next year. Clinical tests have been underway in Japan since October.

Pfizer says its vaccines has a 95 percent efficacy rate based on its analysis of global clinical test results.

Japan's health ministry plans to take into consideration its own assessment of the efficacy and safety of the vaccine.

nhk