Japan has only used about a fifth of the COVID-19 vaccine doses it has imported so far, government data showed on Wednesday, underscoring logistical hurdles such as a shortage of medical staff as it grapples with a sluggish inoculation campaign.
Japan has secured the largest amount of COVID-19 vaccines in Asia as it gears up for the Olympics in the summer. But it has inoculated only 1.6% of its population so far, the slowest among wealthy countries.
By the end of April, Japan will have imported enough vials of Pfizer Inc.'s vaccine for almost 17 million doses, according to a schedule from the Cabinet Office. But as of Wednesday just over 3.2 million shots had been given out, mostly to health care workers.