Coronavirus: Japan official denies pre-Olympics mass jab roll-out schedule; Singapore Airlines trials pre-departure testing service

Domestic media in Japan had cited an anonymous source close to the government as saying vaccinations could reach the public as soon as May

Singapore Airlines’ trial service, which began on Tuesday and is set to run until mid-March, offers those travelling from the city state results in 36 hours

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A nurse prepares a dose of coronavirus vaccine. A Japanese official has denied reports that a mass jab roll-out is set to begin in May. Photo: AP

Published: 7:05pm, 20 Jan 2021Updated: 8:09pm, 20 Jan 2021

The chief of Japan’s Covid-19 vaccination programme on Wednesday denied media reports that jabs for the general public may start in May, as the country battles a third wave that has brought record numbers of infections and serious cases.

Domestic media, including public broadcaster NHK, had cited an anonymous source close to the government as saying vaccinations could reach the public as soon as May.

“Oh no, NHK, please don’t go around making vaccination roll-out schedules like that. It’s bogus,” administrative reform minister Taro Kono, who was selected to spearhead the vaccine roll-out this week, said on Twitter.

The daily Yomiuri said the government was aiming to inoculate most of the population by July, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics scheduled to start on July 23.

People in Japan walk past posters promoting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics games on Wednesday. Photo: AP

The government has said it would prioritise medical workers, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions in its vaccine programme expected to start by the end of February but has not provided a timeline beyond that.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a daily news briefing the “timeline for vaccination for the broader population would be decided after the vaccine is approved”.