The Cabinet on Friday decided to use ¥1.4 trillion ($13 billion) in fiscal 2021 reserve funds, mainly for additional COVID-19 vaccine purchases as well as securing medicines for patients.
Of the amount, the government allocated about ¥841.5 billion to procure more vaccines and promote its inoculation rollout as the country struggles to contain a spike in virus infections driven by the highly contagious delta variant.
Around ¥235.2 billion was earmarked to buy the medicines casirivimab and imdevimab, which are administered intravenously in an antibody cocktail treatment, Finance Minister Taro Aso told a news conference. The therapy lowers a patient's risk of hospitalization or death, according to overseas clinical trials.