Japan Begins Vaccinations For Omicron Ba.5 Subvariant
Japan has started coronavirus vaccinations targeting the prevailing Omicron BA.5 subvariant.
Local municipalities will give shots of the vaccine to residents, starting on Thursday. Tokyo's Minato Ward says it will offer the vaccinations from Friday.
All people aged 12 or older who have had a second shot at least five months ago are eligible.
Japan's health ministry is aiming to get more people vaccinated against the Omicron variant as another wave of infections is feared during the year-end and New Year period.
The country started administering the vaccine for the BA.1 Omicron subvariant in September.
The ministry calculates that about 76.52 million people will become eligible for the vaccinations against BA.1 and BA.5 by the end of the year.
Officials say comparative data about the effectiveness of the two vaccines is not currently available. They are urging people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.