TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2021) The slow pace of vaccination against the coronavirus in Japan compared to other countries is related to a certain procedure for obtaining the vaccine certification that takes more time than abroad, Japanese virologist Akihiro Sato said in an interview with Sputnik.
"Of course, Japan lags behind other countries in terms of vaccination rates. This is because additional clinical trials are usually conducted domestically (after they have already been conducted abroad). This time, since this is a special case, this stage was excluded. But it usually takes a year or two, it all depends on the vaccine. This is longer than, for example, in the US," Sato said, adding that additional trials are needed, as drugs can have different effects on people of different races.
In order to launch the procedure for obtaining the certification, a company that will promote the drug in the Japanese market should file the relevant request with the government, which either grants it or propose to conduct additional tests, the expert said.
"[To distribute Russia's COVID-19 vaccine] in Japan, it is important that the Russian pharmaceutical company has its own sales channel in Japan. It is necessary to define a business plan, a sales agent and further promote the vaccine," Sato said, adding that the first step Russia can make to promote its vaccine is to find a Japanese partner.
Further elaborating on the slow vaccination pace, the virologist said that it was due to the fact that people did not trust vaccines in light of critical media reports.
"During the vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) in Japan, there was a wave of media reports about its side effects. There are many people who pay attention to the side effects of vaccines. I think that the reason for mistrust is the effect of media reports," Sato said.
Though most of side effect cases covered by the media subsequently turned out to have nothing to do with the vaccination, the vaccination campaign had a negative image, the expert added.
According to the latest survey by Ipsos Mori conducted in December and January in 15 countries among 13,000 people, confidence in the coronavirus vaccine was the lowest in Japan, standing at only 17 percent compared to 68 percent in Brazil and 66 percent in the UK.
