Prognosis
Glacial Pace of Vaccinations Threatens Japan’s Olympic Moment
- Slow pace frustrates population as Olympics slated for July
- Defense forces to build Tokyo vaccine site in policy pivot
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In the race to vaccinate citizens against Covid-19, Japan should be a front-runner. It has nearly universal health care coverage and pharmaceutical prowess, not to mention a pending national election, a large elderly population and the looming Olympics to motivate political leaders to move fast.
Yet it has the dubious distinction of being among the worst performers when it comes to inoculations. Japan has given enough doses to cover just 1.1% of its population, the lowest among the 37 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. That compares to 36% in the U.S. and nearly 35% in the U.K.