Elderly Japanese Man Got Four COVID-19 Vaccines In Span Of Three Months

An elderly Japanese resident living in Teshikaga was inoculated four times against COVID-19 between April and July, but reportedly has not suffered any abnormalities so far following a health assessment, a town official revealed on Thursday.

Authorities said the man in question, who is in his 80s, received his first two vaccinations while traveling outside Teshikaga to a hospital, working as a healthcare staff in April and May. His profession made him eligible for the first wave of health care worker vaccinations, according to the Tokyo Reporter.

The senior citizen then, whose identity has been withheld by authorities, secured the second batch of his jabs in Teshikaga in the middle of June and early July after receiving vouchers from the town. A notification had been sent to the elderly resident, informing him that he was eligible for the second wave of senior citizen vaccinations, giving him a total of four COVID-19 vaccine doses in three months.

“I thought the more times I got it, the more effective it would be,” the man reportedly explained when quizzed why he did not disclose his previous vaccinations during the first wave of the rollout for healthcare personnel.

The oversight only emerged during an examination of vaccine expenditures for Teshikaga male citizens for April by the National Health Insurance Federation on July 6. Teshikaga, a town with a population of 7,600, then received a hospital bill indicating that a man had gotten his first two doses before his June inoculation, Japan Today reported.

Most vaccines against coronavirus, including BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sinovac-CoronaVac, and Sputnik V, only require two shots. So far, only the Johnson & Johnson formula necessitates a single dose.

A town official has moved to assure the public that the man had no abnormalities following a medical assessment amid the reported overdose in vaccines.

“To prevent a recurrence, we would like to listen more carefully to vaccination histories before preliminary examinations,” he concluded.

Over the past month, Japan's vaccination program gained momentum and has now slightly surpassed the global mark. However, many Japanese remain in the queue for their shots as it largely remains limited to the elderly aged over 65.

Japan's vaccine program has rolled out in phases, prioritizing health care workers first, followed by senior citizens, and then all adult citizens.

To encourage people from getting jabbed, Health Minister Norihisa Tamura recently reiterated at a budget meeting that the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare would award a lump sum of 44,200,000 yen (US$420,000) to the surviving family of any person who dies as a result of COVID-19 vaccination, SoraNews24 noted.

The longstanding policy, which covers any kind of vaccine, will also assist in defraying funeral costs of up to 209,000 yen (US$2,000).