With the COVID-19 vaccination rollout just starting to gather steam in Japan, local governments have come up with a variety of ways to use surplus doses resulting from sudden appointment cancellations and no-shows.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has requested in writing that each local government study and adopt "flexible measures" to address the question of whom should be administered leftover doses that would otherwise be discarded.
Once thawed and diluted, the vaccines must be used quickly and local governments are racking their brains to avoid having them go to waste — devising plans for waiting lists or targeting teachers, for instance, to receive the unused shots.