5 mil. doses of Novavax vaccine to be supplied nationwide

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:33 JST, May 11, 2022

A total of 5 million doses of a novel coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. biopharmaceutical firm Novavax Inc. are ready to be supplied nationwide by July, according to the health ministry.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry plans to deliver Novavax vaccines to medical institutions according to the number of requests.

According to the ministry, 1 million doses of vaccine is expected to be available from late May to mid-June, followed by 2 million doses each in late June and late July.

The Novavax vaccine is targeted at ages 18 and older and will be used in the first through third rounds of inoculation.

The ministry has requested that each prefecture establish at least one vaccination location, and stated that it will not set an upper limit on the number of vaccination sites per prefecture due to the increasing supply.

Novavax vaccines, which can be stored in an ordinary refrigerator at 2 C to 8 C, are considered easy to handle at medical institutions.

In Japan, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, which received the technology transfer from Novavax, manufactures the product.