With Japan facing the possibility of a coronavirus vaccine supply crunch, governors of major prefectures are lobbying the central government to prioritize distribution to densely populated areas where COVID-19 infections are spreading or could soon spread.
During a meeting in Tokyo on Friday with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said that metropolitan areas, where the risk of large-scale infections is high, should be first in line to receive vaccine doses.
“By vaccinating areas where the state of emergency is in place, or where infections are likely to spread, large-scale outbreaks can be prevented,” Yoshimura told reporters after his meeting with Suga.