TOKYO, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Wednesday confirmed 1,447 new COVID-19 infections as the country began its vaccination campaign with first jabs administered to medical workers in the capital Tokyo.
The nation's cumulative total of infections has risen to 421,211, with 79 newly reported deaths bringing the death toll to 7,236, according to the latest figures.
Meanwhile, Tokyo on Wednesday reported 378 new cases, bringing the city's tally to 108,337.
According to the latest statistics released by the Tokyo metropolitan government, it is the 11th successive day that new infections in the city have remained below the 500-mark.
The number of patients designated as being "seriously ill" and requiring intensive care in hospitals and the use of respirators stood at 87, compared to 82 critically ill patients reported the previous day.
The majority of the 378 new cases were aged in their 30s, followed by those aged in their 20s.
Infected patients aged in their 50s took the third spot, slightly higher than those aged in their 40s, the local government and health officials said.
Tokyo, the hardest hit among Japan's 47 prefectures by the virus, confirmed an additional 19 COVID-19-related deaths.
The death toll in the city of 14 million currently stood at 1,183, the metropolitan government and health officials said.
With the number of new infections on a downtrend recently amid the country's second state of emergency covering 10 prefectures including the capital, and with the already postponed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games rapidly approaching this summer, Japan began administering its first COVID-19 vaccinations to medical workers on Wednesday.
The first inoculations using the vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and German partner BioNTech took place earlier in the day at the National Tokyo Medical Center.
Around 40,000 medical workers will receive the first jabs, double the number initially planned, with 800 workers at the medical center in the capital first to be vaccinated.
Of the 40,000 medical workers at 100 facilities nationwide, 20,000 doctors and nurses will be asked to maintain records on a daily basis for seven weeks after taking the first of two shots, which will be administered three weeks apart.
The survey is in a bid to determine if there are any adverse effects from the jabs and other related information.
Head of the medical center Kazuhiro Araki said he hopes those participating in the study will "help both staff and patients prevent infections."
Araki himself was the first person in the country to receive the vaccine.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a parliamentary committee meeting that the vaccines were essential in the nation's bid to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The vaccines will be the decisive factor in fighting the coronavirus," Suga said, adding that he would continue to push forward with the rollout while keeping the public informed.
Following the initial round of medical workers being inoculated, around 3.7 million health workers will also begin receiving the vaccine in March, followed by 36 million people aged 65 or older from April.
A second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine is scheduled to arrive from Europe next week, Japan's minister in charge of vaccination efforts Taro Kono said the previous day, to ensure there are enough doses to vaccinate the elderly in Japan's rapidly aging society.
Following the elderly, those with preexisting conditions and those working at elderly care facilities will be next in line to be vaccinated, followed by the rest of the population.
A batch of around 400,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses arrived last Friday at Narita airport near Tokyo from Brussels, with a health ministry panel green-lighting the use of the vaccine amid the ongoing pandemic here, which is weighing heavily on the country's medical system.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare fast-tracked and formally approved the country's first vaccine on Sunday for people aged 16 or older.
"I hope many people will take the vaccine with an understanding of the benefits and risks," Kono said. Enditem
