Japan's 1st COVID-19 Vaccine Takers Give Positive Responses

Tokyo, Feb. 17 (Jiji Press)--Medical workers who became the first in Japan to receive vaccinations against the novel coronavirus blamed for the COVID-19 disease made positive remarks after being inoculated on Wednesday. Shortly before 9 a.m. (midnight Tuesday GMT), Kazuhiro Araki, head of the Tokyo Medical Center, filled out a questionnaire in a conference room of the hospital in the Japanese capital's Meguro Ward. He was then administered a shot in his left arm in the room, which was used as a vaccination venue. "I decided to become the first to be inoculated in order to create a momentum for vaccinations," Araki said. "I don't like injections, but the coronavirus vaccine shot didn't hurt at all," he said, with a smile. None of the doctors who received shots after Araki felt unwell. At Chiba Rosai Hospital in the city of Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, its head, Yoshitaka Okamoto, and 11 other workers were vaccinated. Okamoto, 67, said that the amount of the vaccine was only 0.3 cc and that he "had no pain." He added, "I hope that the vaccinations will be the first step for us to get back to a normal life." Takako Aota, 57, deputy head of the hospital, said she opted to be vaccinated as she wanted to show that it is safe for people having underlying conditions to get vaccinations. Aota said she also has a pre-existing condition. At Shinshu Ueda Medical Center in the city of Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, doctors and nurses conducted a drill in preparation for the start of vaccinations. Over 80 pct of its staff workers hope to get vaccinations, according to the hospital. Minoru Fujimori, head of the hospital, and five other executives will receive vaccinations on Thursday, ahead of other staff members of the hospital. The drill "went smoothly," Fujimori said, adding, "I'm confident that vaccinations (at the hospital) will be carried out without trouble." While noting that an area to monitor the conditions of vaccine takers after jabs tends to be crowded, Fujimori said, "We'll deal with the problem by ensuring ventilation." END