Flexibility sought in COVID vaccination program

February 13 , 2021

At a House of Representatives budget hearing held on February 12, Komeito’s Masataka Ota called on the government to remain flexible in enforcing its priority vaccination rollout. He said that under the program, retirement home-residing senior citizens may be inoculated but the staff working there are not vaccinated due to their age—a situation that should not only be avoided but ideally prevented simply by vaccinating both residents and staffers at the same time. Ota inquired whether it was possible for the local administrators tasked with the rollout to modify prioritization. Hiroshi Yamamoto, vice minister for the health, labor and welfare ministry and Komeito member, replied that such modification, contingent on need and supply, was fine.

Ota also pointed out that local governments were not clear as to the definition of those with “preexisting conditions” and thus required clear guidance on the matter. Yamamoto responded by saying that the standards were already in the public domain but that people falling under that category would not need to submit documentation of their condition, only confirming their name on a preliminary list circulated at inoculation sites.

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