Doctors in Japan file a petition to halt vaccinations due to concerns about the vaccine safety

Doctors and other officials in Japan, including those concerned about the safety of coronavirus vaccines, submitted a joint petition to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare to halt the vaccinations, according to a report from Arab News Japan.

According to the report, a total of 450 doctors and officials across Japan submitted a joint petition on June 24 to halt the ongoing vaccination effort in Japan.  The paper added that the joint petition was signed by 390 doctors and 60 local council members, and Toku Takahashi, an honorary professor at the Wisconsin University of Medicine.

“The death rate is very low, and 80 percent of infected people have mild symptoms, but it is questionable whether it is necessary to vaccinate all citizens with gene vaccines that are not yet safe,” Sankei Sport quote Takahashi as saying. Other doctors who attended the meeting said trials were ongoing and claimed that “at least 356 people have died since getting the vaccination.”

The paper also quoted Taro Kono, minister in charge of Japan’s vaccine rollout, as criticizing the group in his updated blog post saying: “Some people spread rumors even though they have a doctor’s license.”

Takahashi responded by saying the figures were from the website of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Japan approved the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, in mid-February, two months later than in the United States.