TOKYO, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday that the government is planning to begin inoculating the third doses of COVID-19 vaccine in December in the country.
The health ministry made the decision last month to give booster shots to people who finished the second dose of the vaccination at least eight months ago, on the grounds that studies have shown antibodies to prevent this disease decrease over time.
"We will be making preparations based on the assumption that we will start it as early as December," Kishida told a Diet session.
Japan began to inject vaccine doses for medical staff in February, and then expanded the program to people aged 65 years and older in the spring, followed by people with underlying diseases, and finally the general population.
The country has been restoring social and economic activities to normal levels before the pandemic since Oct. 1, when the state of emergency covering Tokyo and 18 prefectures was lifted amid a nationwide decline in infection cases.
However, health experts have warned of a possible resurgence of the pandemic in winter, as a growing number of people have started going out and traveling around the country.
