Coronavirus: foreigners in Japan head elsewhere for shots; Modi urges India to avoid lockdowns despite more than 2,000 daily deaths

Japan only started vaccinating its sizeable elderly population this month and health experts say it may take until the winter at least for most of the general populace to get inoculated

Meanwhile, in his first address since the start of India’s record-breaking new wave of infections, Modi acknowledged the nation was ‘once again fighting a big fight’ as it reels from an explosion of cases

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People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus walk on a street in Tokyo on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Published: 9:04am, 21 Apr 2021Updated: 2:03pm, 21 Apr 2021

Japan’s glacial Covid-19 inoculation push is prompting some foreign residents to consider flying to other countries to get vaccinated, as the pandemic surges again with no shots in sight for everyday people.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga negotiated with the CEO of Pfizer Inc on Saturday to secure more vaccine doses, now expected to be enough for all residents by September. That is well after the scheduled start of the Tokyo Olympics and far behind the pace of most major economies.

Japan only started vaccinating its sizeable elderly population this month and health experts say it may take until the winter or longer for most of the general populace to get access to the shots.

An elderly man receives a shot of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at a health centre in Nagoya, central Japan’s Aichi prefecture, on April 14. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

It is unclear how many foreigners are flying out of Japan to get shots, but it is a hot topic on social media and in business circles.

“I can confirm having heard of executives going to their home countries for vaccines,” said Michael Mroczek, president of the European Business Council in Japan, adding the number doing so is limited because of the need to quarantine when travelling back to Japan.

Marc Wesseling is one long-term foreign resident who could not wait any longer. The co-founder of an ad agency in Tokyo flew this month to Singapore, where his company has an office, in part to get the shots so he could safely visit his parents in the Netherlands.

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