| 15/09 (Wed) | 16/09 (Thu) | 17/09 (Fri) | 18/09 (Sat) | 19/09 (Son) | 20/09 (Mon) | 21/09 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6,806 (- 5,590) | 5,705 (- 4,695) | 5,095 (- 3,797) | 4,702 (- 4,105) | 3,401 (- 3,811) | 2,224 (- 1,947) | 1,767 (- 4,510) |
| 15/09 (Wed) | 16/09 (Thu) | 17/09 (Fri) | 18/09 (Sat) | 19/09 (Son) | 20/09 (Mon) | 21/09 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
48 (- 1) - 1,834 (- 377) | 65 (- 23) - 1,743 (- 430) | 64 (- 5) - 1,615 (- 510) | 67 (+ 11) - 1,559 (- 566) | 59 (+ 7) - 1,496 (- 514) | 23 (- 27) - 1,454 (- 521) | 47 (+ 8) - 1,429 (- 476) |
| 15/09 (Wed) | 16/09 (Thu) | 17/09 (Fri) | 18/09 (Sat) | 19/09 (Son) | 20/09 (Mon) | 21/09 (Tue) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aichi | 679 (- 611) | 595 (- 575) | 581 (- 450) | 373 (- 597) | 277 (- 578) | 183 (- 371) | 151 (- 417) |
Chiba | 354 (- 256) | 296 (- 295) | 246 (- 215) | 220 (- 209) | 213 (- 185) | 157 (- 137) | 93 (- 248) |
Fukuoka | 248 (- 324) | 234 (- 195) | 161 (- 277) | 165 (- 213) | 133 (- 159) | 75 (- 83) | 75 (- 134) |
Hokkaido | 110 (- 70) | 94 (- 50) | 84 (- 33) | 77 (- 79) | 75 (- 41) | 50 (- 5) | 36 (- 55) |
Hyogo | 367 (- 485) | 301 (- 375) | 268 (- 260) | 304 (- 203) | 188 (- 210) | 117 (- 74) | 76 (- 376) |
Kanagawa | 489 (- 610) | 534 (- 270) | 547 (- 282) | 453 (- 409) | 394 (- 275) | 257 (- 272) | 188 (- 297) |
Okinawa | 255 (- 158) | 229 (- 107) | 185 (- 116) | 176 (- 94) | 107 (- 166) | 80 (- 60) | 55 (- 229) |
Osaka | 1,160 (- 852) | 858 (- 630) | 735 (- 575) | 666 (- 597) | 467 (- 680) | 268 (- 184) | 245 (- 697) |
Saitama | 513 (- 266) | 360 (- 337) | 348 (- 208) | 262 (- 518) | 224 (- 280) | 155 (- 96) | 121 (- 385) |
Tokyo | 1,052 (- 782) | 831 (- 844) | 782 (- 460) | 862 (- 411) | 565 (- 502) | 302 (- 309) | 253 (- 751) |
The test showed that vaccine efficacy decreases with age. Specifically, the median levels of antibody titer in people in their 60s and 70s and men in their 50s were only about half of those for people in their 20s. For women in their 50s, the levels stood at around 60% of those for people aged 20-29. The median levels for people who have not smoked were about 12% higher than those for all people tested, while the levels for past and current smokers were lower by some 23% and 35%, respectively. "Older people may not be able to sufficiently maintain antibodies produced by vaccinations as their immune cells weaken with age," said Kumiya Sugiyama, deputy head of the hospital in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture. "Many immune cells are in the lungs and directly connected to the immune system of the whole body, so smoking damages the immune cells in the organ, making it difficult to maintain antibody levels." A study of 1,774 staff members at Chiba University Hospital in the city of Chiba, who had completed their two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, found that the levels of antibody titer were higher among women and lower among older people, daily drinkers and those taking immunosuppressive drugs. Compared with nondrinkers, the titer levels were little changed for people who drink two or three times a week, but were roughly 20% lower for daily drinkers.
[Doctors} are increasing calls for the government to downgrade COVID-19's classification in order to ease the burden on public health centers and potentially save more lives by speeding up treatment. The debate on whether to downgrade the disease, which is currently classified alongside some of the most serious infectious diseases, to a less-threatening Class V disease has been gaining momentum as the government mulls its pandemic exit strategy. Health minister Norihisa Tamura signaled in July that the government would actively look into the issue, taking into account progress in the vaccine rollout, new infection figures and the number of hospital beds. In Japan, infectious diseases are placed into one of eight classifications: Class I through Class V and three others for those that have the potential to affect the lives of people through their rapid spread — novel influenza infections, designated infectious diseases, which are identified as such by the Cabinet and require measures equivalent to Category III and above, and new infectious diseases. Class I diseases, such as Ebola, are considered the most dangerous, while Class II includes tuberculosis. The coronavirus is currently classified as a new influenza infection, entailing some countermeasures that are on par with those for Classes I and II.
Since Japan's vaccine rollout kicked off in February, over half the entire population has had their two shots. But inoculations for foreigners -- who number around 2.89 million in Japan as of December 2020 -- have not progressed to the extent of their Japanese peers. Language barriers are believed to be behind the slow inoculation rates, as vaccine tickets and pre-vaccination surveys distributed by local governments contain many kanji characters that are hard to understand for those not fluent in Japanese. The tool developed by Yolo Japan Corp., which provides job and lifestyle assistance services to foreigners living in Japan, offers instant automatic translation into Japanese for 17 languages when input to the pre-vaccination survey form.
Booster shots have already begun in several countries. Israel began administering such shots to individuals five months after they received their second dose, including younger people. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized booster shots of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech vaccine for people age 65 and older, and those age 18 through 64 at high risk of severe COVID-19 or who are at high risk of exposure to the virus because of their jobs. Booster shots are to be administered at least six months after an individual receives their second dose. In Japan, it's still unclear who will be prioritized after medical personnel and older people have received their third dose.
The merits of mixing vaccines when getting a booster shot is the subject of heated debate. Taking a vaccine that's different from the one used for the first or second dose could maximize immunity, but research is still ongoing. Combining vaccines from different manufacturers could help avoid shortages. Shortages were seen in some areas of Japan in the early stages of the vaccine rollout, when only the Pfizer shot had been approved. Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson have all conducted studies regarding the efficacy of their booster shots. Only the vaccines by Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca PLC have been approved for use in Japan. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, has said "a third dose of the same (messenger RNA) vaccine should be used. A person should not receive more than three mRNA vaccine doses. If the mRNA vaccine product given for the first two doses is not available or is unknown, either mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product may be administered," the CDC website says, referring to the Pfizer and Moderna shots.
The Japanese government announced that it has already secured enough doses to enable people to receive booster shots. Japan is looking to provide booster shots before the end of the year for medical personnel, and early next year for those age 65 and above. What is still being debated is whether mixing vaccines increases the efficiency of the booster.
Japan prepares booster shots amid worries over waning vaccine efficacy
Preparations have begun to administer additional shots to health care workers and older people, but debate still swirls around how extra doses should be given and when.www.japantimes.co.jp
Why have Japan's Covid-19 cases dropped so suddenly?
Why have new COVID cases declined so quickly in Japan, and why is caution needed? - The Mainichi
OSAKA -- New COVID-19 infections have been falling quickly in Osaka after peaking at the beginning of September during the virus's fifth wave, matchinmainichi.jp
The Japan numbers are with near certainty vastly undercounted. US numbers, too, are likely undercounted given that people that die without seeking medical care aren't covid tested after the fact in most cases. And despite conspiracy theories to the contrary, doctors aren't deliberately inflating covid deaths willfully.Truth be told, these numbers in Japan have more truth in them then the numbers in America. Nearly 700000 people died in America and yet in Japan nearly 17000 people have ACTUALLY died from the virus.
"It's frustrating to hear on the news, or from family and friends, that these numbers might be inflated," Raja says. "I put a lot of thought into them [death certificates]. These are not things I do on the fly."
Auld has learned not to get into debates with people, such as the family member who sent the email alleging a counting conspiracy. The doubts still sting.
"When people suggest that we are misrepresenting the losses and deaths from COVID, not only does it disrespect our hard work as health care providers," she says. "It also disrespects the families who have lost loved ones."
| 22/09 (Wed) | 23/09 (Thu) | 24/09 (Fri) | 25/09 (Sat) | 26/09 (Son) | 27/09 (Mon) | 28/09 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3,245 (- 3,561) | 3,604 (- 2,101) | 2,093 (- 3,002) | 2,674 (- 2,028) | 2,134 (- 1,267) | 1,147 (- 1,077) | 1,723 (- 44) |
| 22/09 (Wed) | 23/09 (Thu) | 24/09 (Fri) | 25/09 (Sat) | 26/09 (Son) | 27/09 (Mon) | 28/09 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
43 (- 5) - 1,383 (- 451) | 43 (- 22) - 1,273 (- 470) | 56 (- 8) - 1,228 (- 387) | 46 (- 21) - 1,185 (- 374) | 32 (- 27) - 1,133 (- 363) | 29 (+ 6) - 1,106 (- 348) | 29 (- 18) - 1,062 (- 367) |
| 22/09 (Wed) | 23/09 (Thu) | 24/09 (Fri) | 25/09 (Sat) | 26/09 (Son) | 27/09 (Mon) | 28/09 (Tue) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aichi | 270 (- 409) | 359 (- 236) | 173 (- 408) | 213 (- 160) | 166 (- 111) | 73 (- 110) | 139 (- 12) |
Chiba | 140 (- 214) | 166 (- 130) | 119 (- 127) | 150 (- 70) | 106 (- 107) | 83 (- 74) | 76 (- 17) |
Fukuoka | 96 (- 152) | 123 (- 111) | 125 (- 36) | 65 (- 100) | 104 (- 29) | 39 (- 36) | 44 (- 31) |
Hokkaido | 57 (- 53) | 76 (- 18) | 63 (- 21) | 63 (- 14) | 54 (- 25) | 19 (- 31) | 26 (- 10) |
Hyogo | 267 (- 100) | 273 (- 28) | 115 (- 153) | 206 (- 98) | 115 (- 73) | 78 (- 39) | 128 (- 52) |
Kanagawa | 173 (- 316) | 259 (- 275) | 251 (- 296) | 193 (- 260) | 193 (- 201) | 123 (- 134) | 128 (- 60) |
Okinawa | 162 (- 93) | 141 (- 88) | 61 (- 124) | 115 (- 61) | 71 (- 36) | 40 (- 40) | 57 (+ 2) |
Osaka | 591 (- 569) | 540 (- 318) | 240 (- 495) | 425 (- 241) | 386 (- 81) | 141 (- 127) | 281 (+ 36) |
Saitama | 192 (- 321) | 239 (- 121) | 142 (- 206) | 212 (- 50) | 131 (- 93) | 78 (- 77) | 97 (- 24) |
Tokyo | 537 (- 515) | 531 (- 300) | 235 (- 547) | 382 (- 480) | 299 (- 266) | 154 (- 148) | 248 (- 5) |
The experiment, which will also be carried out at sports stadiums, small live music venues and theaters, aims to confirm whether checking visitors' proof of vaccination or negative test results can be conducted smoothly. It will also verify the procedures for responding to a situation when infections are found after events are held, with measures that include keeping a log of all visitors. The move coems after Japan's COVID-19 state of emergency was fully lifted Friday following a steady decline in new cases nationwide that reduced the strain on the country's medical system. The government plans to ease restrictions in stages to bring back social and economic activities. Using the experiment as a framework, the government aims to avoid imposing strict steps uniformly and continue economic activities even if the nation is hit by another wave of infections in the future. Under the experiment, anti-virus measures will be eased if visitors prove they are either fully vaccinated or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test. The government plans to conduct the experiment in the tourism sector in the future, it said.
For the first time in about two months, Tokyo has fewer than 100 COVID-19 patients with serious symptoms who require a ventilator or other equipment to breathe. Metropolitan officials said Oct. 1 there were 93 patients with serious symptoms, a decrease of seven from the previous day. The last time Tokyo had fewer than 100 patients with serious symptoms was July 31 when there were 95.
It probably will go over better in Japan than the US where people don't like being told "you will obey". The number of Americans refusing to get the shot just because they are told they have to or get fired from their job amazes me. Maybe because I'm old , I wanted to get it.
Yes, American obsession with rugged individualism will continue to cause a lot of preventable deaths; perhaps it's part of the national identity that we don't like being told what to do, regardless of the motivation. However, I have heard that while a lot of people will make a big stink if their job is threatened, a majority will actually end up getting vaccinated, albeit reluctantly. Also, a majority of health insurers are no longer providing covid-related care free of charge, which increases the financial pressure for those who are paying attention, but at this point, I don't think many vaccine-hesitant folks think they have a chance of ending up in the hospital... until they do.It probably will go over better in Japan than the US where people don't like being told "you will obey". The number of Americans refusing to get the shot just because they are told they have to or get fired from their job amazes me. Maybe because I'm old , I wanted to get it.
Misinformation (and distortion of information) is a hell of a drug. I remember a lot of noise early on pointing to some countries who had favorable numbers despite not going into lockdowns, as if that were proof of anything. One thing people don't realize is that in other countries, people didn't necessarily need to be told what to do because they voluntarily wore masks and socially distanced, or stayed at home to wait it out. But even so, some of those countries still eventually experienced their own waves of infection, and needed to impose mandates to fight the spread. This is the danger of jumping to conclusions in the middle of an ongoing pandemic.If people used their grey matter, there'd be no need to "tell them". I wonder whether vaccinations against childhood diseases (measles, rubella, chickenpox, etc.) or polio are as controversial as those against Covid-19. Do parents need to be told to protect their children?
| 29/09 (Wed) | 30/09 (Thu) | 01/10 (Fri) | 02/10 (Sat) | 03/10 (Son) | 04/10 (Mon) | 05/10 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1,986 (- 1,259) | 1,576 (- 2,028) | 1,447 (- 646) | 1,246 (- 1,428) | 968 (- 1,166) | 602 (- 545) | 982 (- 741) |
| 29/09 (Wed) | 30/09 (Thu) | 01/10 (Fri) | 02/10 (Sat) | 03/10 (Son) | 04/10 (Mon) | 05/10 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
40 (- 3) - 998 (- 385) | 54 (+ 11) - 932 (- 341) | 43 (- 13) - 778 (- 450) | 35 (- 11) - 719 (- 466) | 33 (+ 1) - 696 (- 437) | 14 (- 15) - 693 (- 413) | 26 (- 3) - 655 (- 407) |
| 29/09 (Wed) | 30/09 (Thu) | 01/10 (Fri) | 02/10 (Sat) | 03/10 (Son) | 04/10 (Mon) | 05/10 (Tue) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aichi | 155 (- 115) | 132 (- 227) | 88 (- 85) | 88 (- 125) | 72 (- 94) | 22 (- 51) | 62 (- 77) |
Chiba | 78 (- 62) | 83 (- 83) | 75 (- 44) | 66 (- 84) | 58 (- 48) | 43 (- 40) | 52 (- 24) |
Fukuoka | 43 (- 53) | 35 (- 88) | 40 (- 85) | 39 (- 26) | 45 (- 59) | 19 (- 20) | 22 (- 22) |
Hokkaido | 45 (- 12) | 26 (- 50) | 32 (- 31) | 25 (- 38) | 9 (- 45) | 5 (- 14) | 20 (- 6) |
Hyogo | 119 (- 148) | 109 (- 164) | 84 (- 31) | 90 (- 116) | 59 (- 56) | 26 (- 52) | 71 (- 57) |
Kanagawa | 130 (- 43) | 129 (- 130) | 117 (- 134) | 82 (- 111) | 87 (- 106) | 51 (- 72) | 77 (- 51) |
Okinawa | 69 (- 93) | 64 (- 77) | 41 (- 20) | 43 (- 72) | 29 (- 42) | 9 (- 31) | 38 (- 19) |
Osaka | 398 (- 193) | 264 (- 276) | 241 (+ 1) | 184 (- 241) | 136 (- 250) | 96 (- 45) | 176 (- 105) |
Saitama | 153 (- 39) | 94 (- 145) | 105 (- 37) | 73 (- 139) | 50 (- 81) | 43 (- 35) | 67 (- 30) |
Tokyo | 267 (- 270) | 218 (- 313) | 200 (- 35) | 196 (- 186) | 161 (- 138) | 87 (- 67) | 144 (- 104) |
The health ministry said Friday that it has signed a contract with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. to receive an additional 120 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine starting in January. Shigeyuki Goto, the new minister of health, labor and welfare, said at a press conference after the Cabinet meeting that "we will work toward the smooth provision of vaccines." The contract was signed on Thursday. The government has already signed contracts to import an additional 50 million doses of U.S. biotechnology firm Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine next year and 150 million vaccine doses of U.S. pharmaceutical giant Novavax Inc. with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., which will handle the vaccine distribution in Japan. The country decided in September to start administering third shots of coronavirus vaccines by the end of this year to increase protection.
Failing to accelerate the rollout of booster shots may lead to a new wave of infections that could far surpass that of the fifth wave over the summer, the projections show. Yukio Ohsawa, a professor at the university's graduate school of engineering, made three projections based on scenarios where fully vaccinated individuals get booster shots six months, eight months and less than six months after a second dose. The first two projections showed that daily new cases nationwide would show a similarly sharp rise starting sometime in the autumn or early 2022, and that cases would top this summer's fifth wave under a scenario where boosters are given after six to eight months. "Tokyo cases alone will top 1,000 and it would be difficult to curb the figures to less than 10,000 at its peak," Ohsawa said in the research, which also projected a rebound in serious cases in winter unless a booster shot is given at shorter intervals than six months.
Tokyo marked the lowest number of fresh COVID-19 cases this year as metropolitan government officials confirmed 82 on Oct. 9. The number was a decrease of 114 from the previous Saturday. For the week ending Oct. 9, the daily average of new cases in the capital was 129.1, which was 57.1 percent the average of the previous week.
| 06/10 (Wed) | 07/10 (Thu) | 08/10 (Fri) | 09/10 (Sat) | 10/10 (Son) | 11/10 (Mon) | 12/10 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1,126 (- 860) | 972 (- 604) | 827 (- 620) | 777 (- 469) | 553 (- 415) | 369 (- 233) | 611 (- 371) |
| 06/10 (Wed) | 07/10 (Thu) | 08/10 (Fri) | 09/10 (Sat) | 10/10 (Son) | 11/10 (Mon) | 12/10 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
33 (- 7) - 612 (- 386) | 30 (- 24) - 595 (- 337) | 37 (- 6) - 526 (- 252) | 46 (+ 11) - 501 (- 218) | 25 (- 8) - 483 (- 213) | 14 (+- 0) - 478 (- 215) | 18 (- 8) - 444 (- 211) |
| 06/10 (Wed) | 07/10 (Thu) | 08/10 (Fri) | 09/10 (Sat) | 10/10 (Son) | 11/10 (Mon) | 12/10 (Tue) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aichi | 80 (- 75) | 61 (- 71) | 42 (- 46) | 43 (- 45) | 35 (- 37) | 15 (- 7) | 35 (- 27) |
Chiba | 52 (- 26) | 43 (- 40) | 35 (- 40) | 36 (- 30) | 30 (- 28) | 25 (- 18) | 28 (- 24) |
Fukuoka | 27 (- 16) | 15 (- 20) | 15 (- 25) | 31 (- 8) | 18 (- 27) | 17 (- 2) | 14 (- 8) |
Hokkaido | 16 (- 29) | 14 (- 12) | 21 (- 11) | 24 (- 1) | 17 (+ 8) | 16 (+ 11) | 16 (- 4) |
Hyogo | 76 (- 43) | 87 (- 22) | 60 (- 24) | 45 (- 45) | 27 (- 32) | 11 (- 15) | 52 (- 19) |
Kanagawa | 86 (- 44) | 102 (- 27) | 65 (- 52) | 81 (- 1) | 54 (- 33) | 49 (- 2) | 46 (- 31) |
Okinawa | 30 (- 39) | 16 (- 48) | 29 (- 12) | 15 (- 28) | 14 (- 15) | 7 (- 2) | 29 (- 9) |
Osaka | 209 (- 189) | 165 (- 99) | 166 (- 75) | 124 (- 60) | 105 (- 31) | 49 (- 47) | 103 (- 73) |
Saitama | 75 (- 78) | 68 (- 26) | 25 (- 80) | 37 (- 36) | 28 (- 22) | 21 (- 22) | 25 (- 42) |
Tokyo | 149 (- 118) | 143 (- 75) | 138 (- 62) | 82 (- 114) | 60 (- 101) | 49 (- 38) | 77 (- 67) |
The survey found that female respondents suffered from fatigue, taste and smell disorders and hair loss more than the male respondents did. Shinichiro Morioka, who heads the organization's Disease Control and Prevention Center, said the reasons women are more likely to develop these symptoms "have yet to be definitively determined." "In the acute stage, being male, being old and being obese are considered to be high risks for developing severe COVID-19 symptoms," he said. "But they turned out to be opposite in terms of some of the risks of developing aftereffects of COVID-19. We are conducting research to determine the cause of that," he said.
For patients age 65 or over, the percentage requiring treatment in an intensive care unit among those fully vaccinated when they became sick — or so-called breakthrough infection cases — was approximately one-seventh of that seen among unvaccinated people with the disease, according to the study by the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo. The percentage of deaths among fully vaccinated, older patients was roughly a third that of unvaccinated people, the study showed. The study included 3,417 people who were admitted to hospitals across Japan in July or later and reported to the national center by Sept. 22. Of them, around 90% had not been vaccinated or had received only one dose. Of the 2,574 people who had clear records of their vaccination date, 54 people, or 2%, became infected with the coronavirus at least two weeks after the second dose, which is considered the time required for the vaccine to become fully effective.
why are numbers falling recently
| 20/10 (Wed) | 21/10 (Thu) | 22/10 (Fri) | 23/10 (Sat) | 24/10 (Son) | 25/10 (Mon) | 26/10 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
391 (- 340) | 345 (- 274) | 325 (- 206) | 285 (- 199) | 236 (- 193) | 153 (- 79) | 314 (- 58) |
| 20/10 (Wed) | 21/10 (Thu) | 22/10 (Fri) | 23/10 (Sat) | 24/10 (Son) | 25/10 (Mon) | 26/10 (Tue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 (- 8) - 276 (- 137) | 11 (- 23) - 260 (- 121) | 16 (- 15) - 217 (- 140) | 10 (- 16) - 208 (- 127) | 8 (- 6) - 208 (- 119) | 8 (- 3) - 202 (- 110) | 8 (- 10) - 197 (- 97) |
| 20/10 (Wed) | 21/10 (Thu) | 22/10 (Fri) | 23/10 (Sat) | 24/10 (Son) | 25/10 (Mon) | 26/10 (Tue) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aichi | 26 (- 14) | 22 (- 13) | 36 (+ 2) | 22 (- 11) | 18 (- 11) | 9 (- 6) | 35 (+ 20) |
Chiba | 13 (- 23) | 21 (+ 2) | 5 (- 13) | 13 (+ 4) | 2 (- 15) | 3 (- 7) | 11 (- 1) |
Fukuoka | 15 (- 7) | 11 (- 14) | 8 (- 8) | 8 (- 13) | 4 (- 10) | 8 (+- 0) | 1 (- 9) |
Hokkaido | 14 (- 7) | 11 (- 34) | 15 (- 12) | 5 (- 19) | 18 (- 20) | 1 (- 10) | 13 (+ 1) |
Hyogo | 25 (- 14) | 29 (- 1) | 26 (- 2) | 25 (+ 8) | 17 (- 14) | 19 (+ 10) | 35 (+ 6) |
Kanagawa | 16 (- 34) | 39 (- 13) | 24 (- 9) | 9 (- 27) | 11 (-26) | 7 (- 16) | 13 (+ 3) |
Okinawa | 20 (- 12) | 18 (- 15) | 14 (- 17) | 9 (+ 9) | 13 (+ 6) | 5 (- 11) | 12 (- 17) |
Osaka | 73 (- 52) | 42 (- 70) | 51 (- 14) | 46 (- 32) | 38 (- 33) | 26 (- 3) | 51 (- 32) |
Saitama | 13 (- 38) | 11 (- 14) | 17 (- 9) | 18 (- 4) | 6 (- 13) | 3 (- 11) | 8 (- 9) |
Tokyo | 41 (- 1) | 36 (- 26) | 26 (- 31) | 32 (- 34) | 19 (- 21) | 17 (- 12) | 29 (- 7) |
... a stark contrast to other countries providing them only to older people and those with pre-existing conditions.
Tokyo had initially considered giving booster shots only to front-line health workers and older people. But a health ministry panel on Thursday decided that everyone who has had two shots will be eligible, given that research overseas has shown that vaccine efficacy declines to around 50% over a few months. The panel did not conclude whether people will be allowed to mix shots for the booster, for example, receiving the Pfizer vaccine after being given Moderna for the first two doses.
The health ministry cited U.S. research published in The Lancet earlier in October that said vaccine effectiveness against infection declined from 88% during the first month following vaccination to 47% after five months for all age groups. For ages 16 to 44, the figure dropped from 89% to 39%, while those aged between 45 and 64 saw a fall from 87% to 50%. For those 65 and over, it was from 80% to 43%, the study showed. However, in the same survey, protection against hospitalization remained high at 88% after five months, up from 87% in the first month after being fully vaccinated.
Finally, the number of infected people in Tokyo has reached nine.
Yes, things are going very well at the moment. I'm able to go out and enjoy myself again, and despite the low number of cases, most people are being sensible, wearing masks, and disinfecting themselves when they enter shops.Mondays have always been low in infections, but yesterday - just nine in Tokyo and 86 nation-wide - was nothing short of phenomenal. Of course, there are lots of conspiracy theories flying on JT (and probably FB), but I hope this trend prevails. Lately, several European nations have seen their numbers skyrocket and strict lockdowns reimposed, while some East European countries have vaccination rates matching those of African nations.
Well done, Japan!