COVID-19 vaccinations for older residents will begin on April 12, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday, as the rollout gradually expands beyond health care workers.
Taro Kono, the minister in charge of vaccination efforts, had previously said the government was aiming to start administering shots to people age 65 or above, a group of about 36 million people, on April 1 at the earliest.
Vaccinations of older people will start on a small scale nationwide before ramping up from April 26, Kono said at a news conference Wednesday.