news: Pfizer vaccine gets final OK in Japan,

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/14/national/science-health/pfizer-vaccine-approval-japan/

https://apnews.com/article/japan-asia-pacific-coronavirus-pandemic-ba1f08c8de09af7b027b0641d4b97901

Japan on Sunday formally approved its first COVID-19 vaccine and said it would start nationwide inoculations within days, but months behind the U.S. and many other countries.

Japan’s health ministry said it had approved the vaccine co-developed and supplied by Pfizer Inc.

The announcement comes after a government panel on Friday confirmed that final results of clinical testing done in Japan showed that the vaccine had an efficacy similar to what overseas tests showed.

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Under the current plan, about 20,000 front-line medical workers at hospitals in Japan will get their first shots beginning around Wednesday. About 3.7 million other medical workers will be next, followed by elderly people, who are expected to get their shots in April. By June, it’s expected that all others will be eligible.