Japan parliament approves bill to provide free COVID-19 vaccine to its 126 mn residents

Japan's parliament on Wednesday, December 2 approved the bill to provide free COVID-19 vaccination to its 126 million people. The bill received the approval of the upper house of the parliament after being passed in the powerful lower house. The bill will make the local authorities of Japan responsible for managing the immunisations across prefectures. 

Read: Japan: More People Died Of Suicide In October Than Due To COVID-19 In 2020

The passage of the bill comes at a time when Japan is suffering from a second wave of the disease. The bill includes a provision that would require citizens to make efforts towards getting vaccinated, but it won't come into effect until the safety and efficacy of the vaccine are proven. The bill would also allow the government to compensate private companies in case health problems occur from vaccination resulting in financial losses.

Read: Japan: PM Calls For Focus On 'unconventional' Areas In The Defense To Fight New Challenges

Suga vows to secure vaccines

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has vowed to put all efforts into securing vaccines as soon as they are approved by the regulators. According to the Japan Times, the country has reportedly secured 120 million doses of potential COVID-19 vaccine from British firm AstraZeneca, while another 60 and 25 million doses from American giants Pfizer and Moderna respectively. However, not everyone in Japan is enthusiastic about getting vaccinated as a survey from Ipsos showed that only 69 percent of Japanese residents are willing to get a vaccine, which is lower than the global average of 73 percent. 

Read: Suga Concerned By "security Environment" Around Japan

COVID-19 cases in Japan have been on a surge since August with the country reporting more than 1,000 cases continuously since November 11. Japan has reported more than 1,51,000 COVID-19 cases so far, of which 2,109 people have lost their lives. Even though the country is reporting more than a thousand cases every day, the fatality rate is one of the lowest compared to other G7 countries. 

Read: Japan Bird Flu Outbreak Spreads As Fukuoka Prefecture Reports Cases

(Image Credit: AP)