Japan will begin the first stage of inoculating its population against COVID-19, with Regulatory Reform Minister Taro Kono saying Tuesday that 40,000 medical workers will receive the jabs from Wednesday, double the number initially planned.
"We are about to start vaccinating, which is said to be the strongest weapon in the fight against the coronavirus," Kono, who also serves as Japan's minister in charge of the vaccination program, told a press briefing on the matter.
Japan's first vaccine to be administered, jointly produced by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, was given approval to be used in Japan by a health ministry panel last Friday.
