A COVID-19 vaccination site exclusively for younger people will open later this month in Tokyo's Shibuya area, providing shots without prior reservations, Gov. Yuriko Koike said Wednesday, as the capital battles a rapid surge of infections.
The Tokyo metropolitan government said it plans for people aged 39 or younger to receive U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc.'s vaccine at the site to be set up near JR Shibuya Station in the popular shopping district that attracts young people.
"We will make efforts to have younger generations vaccinated quickly amid the rapid spread of infections among them," Koike said in a Tokyo metropolitan assembly session that began the same day.
The announcement came as Tokyo reported 5,386 new infections Wednesday, the second-highest figure after a record 5,773 cases late last week.
During the extraordinary session through Friday, the metropolitan assembly will deliberate a supplementary budget of around 327.8 billion yen ($2.9 billion) to implement anti-virus measures.
Under the draft extra budget, 1 billion yen will be allocated to develop a smartphone app for vaccinated people to get shopping discounts, while 4 billion yen will be assigned to set up "oxygen stations" for patients with severe symptoms who are recuperating at home.
With the number of novel coronavirus infections also rising nationwide due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the Japanese government decided Tuesday to extend a state of emergency covering Tokyo and five other areas to Sept. 12, while expanding it to seven more prefectures from Friday.
Koike also vowed in the assembly session to make the Tokyo Paralympics opening next Tuesday a success, saying, "Our top priority is to host a safe and secure games."
