Japan mobilized military doctors and nurses to give shots to elderly people in Tokyo and Osaka as the government desperately tries to accelerate its vaccination rollout and curb COVID-19 infections just two months before hosting the Olympics.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is determined to hold the Olympics and has made an ambitious pledge to finish vaccinating elderly people by the end of July, despite skepticism it’s possible.
Worries about public safety — while many Japanese remain unvaccinated — have prompted growing protests and calls for canceling the Games set to start on July 23.
The two mass inoculation centers in Tokyo and Osaka aim to give shots to 15,000 people a day for the next three months.
According to Bloomberg, Japan has distributed enough vaccines to inoculate just 3% of its population.