Japan to speed up booster shots amid fear of omicron spread

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says his government is accelerating COVID-19 booster shots and securing oral medicines after speaking with Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Burla

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday his government is accelerating COVID-19 booster shots and securing oral medicines after speaking with Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Burla.

Japan has confirmed a handful of omicron variant cases, while revealing a cluster of infections of about 100 U.S. troops on Japan's southern island of Okinawa since earlier this month.

Japan, which lacks home-developed vaccines, has so far approved booster shots from Pfizer and Moderna. Japan is also moving to shorten the interval between the second jab and boosters.

Kishida said the government will start giving booster shots to elderly people seven months after their second shot starting February. He also said he and Burla agreed on Pfizer's supply of 2 million doses of oral medicine for COVID-19, in addition to Merck pills expected to be approved by the end of the month.