Q3 Earnings Alert! Plan early for this week’s stock reports with all key data in 1 placeSee list

Japan PM Suga receives COVID-19 vaccination ahead of Biden meeting in U.S.

Published 03/15/2021, 11:03 PM
Updated 03/16/2021, 01:25 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Japanese PM Suga holds news conference in Tokyo on March 5, 2021
PFE
-

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday in preparation for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden next month, becoming the country's first government official to be publicly inoculated.

Some 80 to 90 officials will be vaccinated before heading to the United States early next month, where Suga will become the first world leader to meet Biden since he became president.

"It didn't hurt," Suga told reporters afterwards. A doctor checked his eyes and throat before he received the shot in his left arm.

Japan began its COVID-19 inoculation campaign last month with imported doses of the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Inc/BioNTech vaccine.

Taro Kono, the minister in charge of Japan's vaccine effort, has focused getting the vaccine to healthcare workers and those over the age of 65. Kono has said that Japan's Emperor Naruhito, who just turned 61, would have to wait his turn, but the 87-year-old retired emperor would be in that initial group.

Suga, 72, has pledged to have enough doses for the country's 126 million people by June, before the July 23 start of the Tokyo Olympics. Supplies have been trickling in from Pfizer factories in Europe, but are expected to accelerate in the coming months.

© Reuters. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo

Japan had administered at least one shot of the vaccine to over 290,000 people through Monday.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.