Japan may acquire herd immunity to COVID-19 by mid-October as the vaccination campaign in the country has recently sped up, the Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing research by Nomura Securities Co
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2021) Japan may acquire herd immunity to COVID-19 by mid-October as the vaccination campaign in the country has recently sped up, the Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing research by Nomura Securities Co.
According to the research, the country may reach the 70% vaccination target by the week of October 18.
The outlook revises the previous estimate by two months, as the country has outrun the company's initial forecast of administering 1 million vaccine doses daily in July, having reached it earlier in June.
The report, however, does not rule out that herd immunity might be delayed until late February of next year, if the pace of vaccination falls to 500,000 shots daily.
The study also forecasts that the Japanese economy will rebound in the second half of the summer, when the immunization rate will stand at up to 20%.
The Japanese government indefinitely paused company applications for coronavirus vaccinations at workplaces due to the slow distribution of Moderna. The move, however, does not affect medical centers administering the Pfizer vaccine.
The vaccine rollout began at major companies and university campuses in Japan on Monday, accelerating the distribution which was mainly limited to health care workers and senior citizens.
The immunization campaign in Japan started in February, covering 4.7 million health care workers in the first phase. In April, Japan began administering shots to those over 65, with some 36 million seniors expected to be vaccinated during this stage.
