Asia steps up vaccination efforts after slow start, US lags behind

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TOKYO / SINGAPORE, Sept. 16 (Reuters) – Several Asian countries are rapidly stepping up vaccination campaigns from shaky beginnings to tackle growing COVID-19 infections, as supplies deliveries pour in and people overcome hesitation in hope to ease restrictions and free up travel.

Japan and South Korea have overtaken the United States in terms of those who have received at least one dose and are quickly catching up to the second.

And Australia, which targets high vaccination rates in its drive to escape lockdowns and reopen borders, has given 56% of people at least one injection as infections peak.

“This 70% double-dose, 80% double-dose mark is within sight,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told media Thursday in the capital Canberra. “Carry on, Australia.”

Although each country’s vaccination strategies differ, the momentum in Asia reflects pent-up demand for vaccines as a way to ease blockages, said Paul Griffin, an infectious disease expert at the University of Queensland in the north. is from Australia.

Australia is giving priority supplies to its largest cities, which are stranded to contain a third wave of infections fueled by the Delta variant. He expects to have enough to complete vaccinations for people over 12 by mid-October. Read more

Japan has overcome early logistical hurdles to deliver around a million hits per day since mid-June, as the urgency escalated after Delta unleashed an unprecedented wave of infections and severe cases in August .

“This obviously accelerated motivation for vaccination, especially among young and middle-aged groups,” said Takahiro Kinoshita, doctor and head of the Cov-Navi vaccine information group.

Vaccination rate in Japan reflects a desire to “return to a normal way of life,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Thursday, who will resign this month after a one-year term marred by an unpopular response to COVID -19. Read more

Vaccine uptake has also been boosted by consistent public messages to counter health concerns that have condemned previous similar campaigns, said Fumie Sakamoto, infection control manager at St. Luke International Hospital in Tokyo.

CARROT AND STICK

Yet experts agree that vaccinations will level off everywhere.

For example, the United States and Britain, which rushed to immunize millions of people months ago, are now seeing stagnant inoculation rates as large swathes of their populations reject vaccines. .

To counter the slowdown and the wave of anti-vaccine sentiment, US President Joe Biden announced new terms this week.

“I think they may not have the same incentive as we (in Australia), where we have relied on very severe restrictions to keep people safe … and we are told that our only ticket to the freedom is to have high levels of immunization, ”Griffin said.

China, where more than 70% of the population has received both doses, said this month that it was difficult to expand its vaccination campaign but did not specify where the roadblocks were. Read more

In wealthy Singapore, Asia’s most vaccinated nation with over 80% of people fully vaccinated, is focusing on booster doses as infections rise.

While there is reluctance, especially among the elderly and those worried about side effects of new mRNA vaccines, people have a high level of trust in government, which contributes to compliance.

“If the carrot is, we’re going to relax the restrictions if we get a high enough vaccination rate, then that will influence some people, it still won’t influence the completely recalcitrant,” said infectious disease expert Dale Fisher, of the state of the city. National University Hospital.

Singapore has linked its reopening to vaccination rate milestones and set limits on unvaccinated people dining in restaurants. Read more

South Korea, which initially struggled to stock up on vaccines, has supercharged its campaign, thanks to increased shipments.

It is likely to reach more than 70% of its population with a first dose before this week, an official said on Thursday.

India, with the world’s second-highest number of infections, has given 42% of its population of nearly 1.4 billion at least one dose, after months of production shortages and high demand .

Reporting by Rocky Swift in Tokyo and Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Additional reporting by John Mair and Hyonhee Shin in Seoul; Written by Sayantani Ghosh; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Clarence Fernandez

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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