{"title":"Navigating Japan's COVID-19 Vaccination Challenges: A Shift in Legal Classification and the Opt-out System.","authors":"Yudai Kaneda, Mira Namba, Masaki Takebayashi","doi":"10.31662/jmaj.2023-0061","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>On January 20, 2023, the Japanese government announced easing the legal handling of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) under its Infectious Diseases Control Act, effective May 8, 2023. While free vaccines will continue in fiscal year 2023, the future of mass vaccinations remains uncertain. The opt-out system, wherein local governments schedule vaccinations on behalf of the residents, may potentially alleviate issues associated with the currently adopted opt-in approach, such as procedural intricacies and scheduling difficulties, thereby facilitating the recovery of vaccination rates and simultaneously addressing vaccine wastage concerns. Given that COVID-19 still presents a substantial risk to specific groups, such as the elderly, recognizing the benefits of the opt-out system and the ethical and geographical challenges it poses is essential. With the collaboration of local governments and healthcare institutions, ongoing surveillance and scientific assessment are indispensable.</p>","PeriodicalId":73550,"journal":{"name":"JMA journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10834161/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JMA journal","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.31662/jmaj.2023-0061","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/11/27 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
On January 20, 2023, the Japanese government announced easing the legal handling of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) under its Infectious Diseases Control Act, effective May 8, 2023. While free vaccines will continue in fiscal year 2023, the future of mass vaccinations remains uncertain. The opt-out system, wherein local governments schedule vaccinations on behalf of the residents, may potentially alleviate issues associated with the currently adopted opt-in approach, such as procedural intricacies and scheduling difficulties, thereby facilitating the recovery of vaccination rates and simultaneously addressing vaccine wastage concerns. Given that COVID-19 still presents a substantial risk to specific groups, such as the elderly, recognizing the benefits of the opt-out system and the ethical and geographical challenges it poses is essential. With the collaboration of local governments and healthcare institutions, ongoing surveillance and scientific assessment are indispensable.