Booster vaccinations slow among young people in Japan

Jiji Press

15:57 JST, April 17, 2022

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Only less than 30% of people in their 20s and 30s in Japan have received a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, recent government data showed.

More than 80% of those in their 70s and older have received a booster shot, but the proportion was lower at 24.0% in those in their 20s and 25.9% in their 30s, according to the data released Monday.

The government released booster vaccination rates by age group for the first time. Across all ages, nearly half of the population, at 47.1%, had received a booster shot as of Friday.

The government plans to take steps, including providing financial aid to help colleges open mass vaccination sites, to promote booster inoculations among young people.

By prefecture, only Gunma, Yamaguchi, Nagasaki and Kumamoto saw more than 30% of those in their 20s and 30s receive a booster shot.

In Okinawa Prefecture, the proportion was below 20%, at 14.7 pct in those in their 20s and 19.3% in their 30s. For those in their 20s, the figure was below 20% in Osaka and Ehime Prefecture.

Economic revitalization minister Daishiro Yamagiwa, who is in charge of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, called on Okinawa Thursday to promote booster shots.