Status: 11/24/2021 3:33 a.m.
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Japan now has a high vaccination rate after having been in a poor position by international standards for a long time. In view of the low number of infections, some scientists are already talking about the end of the delta variant.
By Ulrich Mendgen, ARD-Studio Tokyo
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The Japanese government had long shunned decisive measures against Covid-19. She even slept through the start of the vaccination in Europe. Added to this was the skepticism in the population. And then the vaccine was running out. In the spring it seemed hopeless to get an appointment in the foreseeable future: “We wondered if it would come before Christmas,” recalls the BBC correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.
Ulrich Mendgen
ARD-Studio Tokyo
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Ominous expectations dominated the picture. Many locals feared the Olympic Games in summer and the entry of supposedly thousands of infected people. In retrospect, however, it seems that the Olympics, of all things, have contributed to the turnaround.
In anticipation of the coming wave of infections, locals changed their minds and opted for the injection. In the end, the Japanese vaccination sprint was the real record achievement of the Olympic summer 2021.
Now in the top position in the G7 comparison
Almost 200 million doses were administered within six months. About 76 percent of the population are now fully vaccinated – just under 100 million people. The race to catch up catapulted Japan from one of the lower international vaccination ranks to the top position within the G7.
Booster should also start in December. If the old pace is reached, the chapter should be completed quickly.
A success that many contributed to
But how did Japan manage this logistical masterpiece? Several factors worked together. The military was called in to set up makeshift vaccination centers. They received more than a million visitors a day at peak times. Large Japanese companies offered their employees the injection. Cities and municipalities came up with a lot to get the young people who are not vaccinated at the start.
In Kyoto, the old imperial city that attracted countless tourists before Corona, a popular manga museum served as an incentive: The tip was set in the museum, vaccinees received free entry and were allowed to stay until the evening. The first appointments were quickly booked up here.
The business world has also discovered the value of vaccinations. There are countless discounts, vouchers and raffles for those who have been vaccinated. More than 250,000 customers have registered with “Tokyo Vaction” alone – a platform of companies with many special offers for everyone who uploads their vaccination certificate.
Dramatic news worked – and a guess
However, other aspects were decisive for the success of the vaccination. The bad news about high death rates in other countries particularly impressed the many elderly people in Japan. Curiously, it seems that the shortage of the vaccine has caused you to rethink. In short: something that is coveted all over the world cannot be bad.
The vaccination campaign in Japan was also favored by a political culture in which consensus is valued. Unlike in Germany, vaccination was not the subject of heated political discussions. Instead, there was peer pressure, combined with fear of exclusion. With the vaccination certificate, many wanted to show that they do not have to be avoided.
Measures that are less accepted in other countries were part of everyday life in Japan even before the pandemic began: Compulsory masks did not have to be prescribed, because the wearing of mouth and nose protection is already widespread, also as a gesture of respect for others. Japanese culture is also no stranger to social distancing.
The mask is a natural part of everyday life in Japan – like here in a Tokyo train station.
Build: AP
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Delta variant overcome?
In mid-November, the number of new infections every day across Japan was less than 80 – out of a total population of 126 million people. Given this low level, some scientists are already wondering whether the delta variant is on the decline in the island realm.
Professor Ituro Inoue from the National Institute for Genetics in Tokyo argues that the virus lost its risk of infection as a result of mutations. Inoue told the “Japan Times” newspaper that the delta variant of the pathogen was “on the way to self-extinction” in Japan.
The epidemiologist Kenji Shibuya, referred to as the “Drosten of Japan”, warns against overly optimism. Japan also has to reckon with increasing infections again in winter, he said in an interview with the German magazine “Wirtschaftswoche”. The ups and downs of the infections are normal. He sees no evidence of a lasting victory for Japan over the corona virus.
The deficits of the health system
Many families in Japan cannot share the joy of the vaccination success anyway. The survivors of deceased corona sufferers today publicly denounce how badly the Japanese health system is positioned in the pandemic. Although there are many hospital beds in Japan, there are comparatively few intensive care units. A government plan envisages increasing the number of hospital beds for corona patients to around 40,000.
At the height of the last wave, however, the demand was many times higher. The consequence of the shortage: Infected people were often turned away and left to fend for themselves in domestic isolation. Hundreds of these sick later died without medical attention. For them, the vaccination success in their country comes too late.
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