By: Muhammad Rayhansyah Jasin
Taken from Japan Times, July 2nd, 2021
On June 10, APU announced on campus terminal that the school committee has started discussing the workplace vaccination policy, as it had been commenced by the Japanese Government through the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW). In this announcement it was also declared that the vaccination policy will not be mandatory, but rather an option for everyone to choose. A survey will be distributed once APU has finalized the policy.
Later on June 28, another announcement was made on Campus Terminal. They explained that APU has submitted the application for the vaccination program to MHLW. However, due to the excessive applications from various workplaces and the process to examine each application, it will take some time. It is expected that no vaccines will be available until mid-July. In other words, the vaccination program cannot be started now.
Just this afternoon, APU has released another announcement regarding the vaccination program. In the announcement it is explained that there are two Vaccination Programs which APU is currently working on. The first program is the APU's Workplace Vaccination Program, the aforementioned initiative measurement that is managed by MHLW, that will be implemented at APU. The second program is the Beppu City Government's vaccination program that is addressed to all residents aged 12 until 65 that is going to be held at hospitals around Beppu City. Not to be confused, this article is going to cover only the APU's Workplace Vaccination Program.
Taken from APU Official Website, July 2nd, 2021
To find out more about when and how the vaccine will be distributed we contacted the Vice President of APU, Hiroshi Yoneyama with some of our questions.
*Note that each answer has been edited for the purposes of effective communication. Please find the actual transcript of the responses attached in the last part of the article.
When can we get the vaccines ?
Just like the announcement made on June 28, due to the abundance of applications made by various working places to the MHLW, APU still cannot determine when the program will be held.
"APU wants to provide everyone with the opportunity to be vaccinated as soon as possible," Vice President Yoneyama says to reassure students.
This program will be started once APU has gotten the vaccine from MHLW.
Detail of the program
APU’s vaccination program will be conducted separately from the program that is undergone in Ritsumeikan University, or the Oita Prefecture and Beppu City Local Government.
"The vaccination program is being prepared with the cooperation of nearby hospitals that will be sending doctors and nurses," Vice President Yoneyama explains.
APU is trying their best to administer the vaccines ahead of the local government’s schedule for young people, which needs to wait until the end of the year. The vaccines must also be given twice at the same place. It is not possible to receive one dose of vaccine from the government and the other at the university.
The type of vaccine
The students at APU will be offered Moderna, which is the vaccine used for workplace vaccination. This is aligned with the government’s plan to distribute Pfizer’s vaccines in hospitals and local venues set up by municipalities, while Moderna’s vaccines are to be given in a mass inoculations site for working places.
There is no significant reason why the Government decided to separate the vaccine. Nikkei Asia reports that the 50 million Moderna’s produced vaccine influx is separated from Pfizer’s 100 million doses that are distributed to local municipalities to make it easier to keep track of the vaccination rate.
According to Japan Times, vaccines made by Moderna and AstraZeneca have received final approval from the government since May 21. Reuters and NPR have reported that all three vaccines used by the Japanese Government; Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, are proven to be effective to also combat the COVID-19 variants, especially the Delta and Beta Strain.
Preparation students need to do
In order to receive the vaccine, students must bring the vaccination coupon issued by the local government that will be mailed to each student’s address. If on the day of the vaccinations students have not received the coupon yet, they can still be vaccinated but must submit the coupon to the University later when they finally receive it.
"Other information is to be distributed prior to the day of the vaccination," says Vice President Yoneyama.
Regarding concerns made by some International students about different treatments provided by the University in this vaccination program, APU has briefly responded.
"There will be no discrimination or separation between domestic and international students about the vaccination program," Vice President Yoneyama states.
Since everyone has their own residence card, everybody is entitled with the same rights as Japanese Citizens.
Possibility of on-campus activities
Vice President Yoneyama also talked about some of his concerns regarding the aforementioned COVID-19 virus' new variant, Delta.
CNN writes that, according to Andrew Pekosz, Immunology and Molecular Microbiology Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Delta variant has outcompeted the Alpha strain as the most transmissible variant in the world looking by the data collected in England.
However, he believes that with two doses the vaccine will be 90% effective in building immunity, as explained with the information shared by NBC.
If the vaccination program goes as planned, APU is planning to welcome more than a thousand students before the commencement of Fall Semester 2021. These students are composed of those who are already admitted to APU, but have not been able to come to Japan and all the incoming new students of Fall Semester 2021.
"APU is hoping to resume all normal education and research activities as soon as possible, but the fall semester (2021) will begin carefully with continued infection control measures," says Vice President Yoneyama.
Moreover, APU is expecting that by the end of this year, all students living in Japan will have been vaccinated and most international students could have come to Beppu and start the new post-COVID-19 university life. Although it is not stated by the Vice President Yoneyama’s letter whether these incoming international students will have to be vaccinated before coming to Beppu.
Hope upon the success of the program
Vice president Yoneyama is hoping that through the implementation of this vaccination program, the campus activity will resume with full vigor and students will be able to interact with each other safely again. This also means that there is a possibility to resume all overseas study programs.
This vaccination program that APU is currently discussing, serves as the background of APU’s commitment to have the Fall Semester 2021 be conducted like before. Please review and check the Vice President's response to our formal inquiry for yourself. In this article we attached the PDF file of the response.
Taken from APU Official Instagram Page, July 2nd, 2021
Related Links
AstraZeneca and Pfizer's vaccines' effectiveness against variants,
Japan won’t start resuming workplace vaccination campaign,
Japan to kick off workplace vaccination program,
Things to know about the Delta Variant,
Two doses of vaccine ace 90% efficacy against the Delta Variant,
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