[ColoradoTree]

From what I understand, Japan has a stricter process for getting vaccines approved, requiring more tests, etc. So, the process has taken much longer there, and they're effectively where we were in February or March. Pfizer got approved there in February, but Moderna and AstraZeneca not until May (with AZ still not even being rolled out due to blood clot concerns). Japan didn't open up vaccines for people under 65 until June 21, so they're playing a great deal of catchup. 

And while there is vaccine hesitancy everywhere, it seems to be particularly strong in Japan due to concerns about vaccine safety. (Apparently, a belief that the MMR shot led to increased meningitis cases--despite no definitive link being found--became widely accepted in the 1990s and have led to strong resistance to vaccines in general. That was apparently worsened by coverage of potential side effects of the HPV vaccine--a very safe vaccine, by any measure--in more recent years. In short, any vaccine side effect gets outsized coverage, so faith in vaccines in Japan is uniquely low among highly industrialized nations. That in turn has led the government to require stricter testing standards before approval in an effort to create more consumer confidence in approved vaccines.) In one poll, only 62% of Japanese residents even said they would even consider getting the vaccine. That's not gonna get it done.

[ColoradoTree]

From what I understand, Japan has a stricter process for getting vaccines approved, requiring more tests, etc. So, the process has taken much longer there, and they're effectively where we were in February or March. Pfizer got approved there in February, but Moderna and AstraZeneca not until May (with AZ still not even being rolled out due to blood clot concerns). Japan didn't open up vaccines for people under 65 until June 21, so they're playing a great deal of catchup. 

And while there is vaccine hesitancy everywhere, it seems to be particularly strong in Japan due to concerns about vaccine safety. (Apparently, a belief that the MMR shot led to increased meningitis cases--despite no definitive link being found--became widely accepted in the 1990s and have led to strong resistance to vaccines in general. That was apparently worsened by coverage of potential side effects of the HPV vaccine--a very safe vaccine, by any measure--in more recent years. In short, any vaccine side effect gets outsized coverage, so faith in vaccines in Japan is uniquely low among highly industrialized nations. That in turn has led the government to require stricter testing standards before approval in an effort to create more consumer confidence in approved vaccines.) In one poll, only 62% of Japanese residents even said they would even consider getting the vaccine. That's not gonna get it done.