Japanese airline starts crew vaccination drive

world
Japanese Airline Starts Crew Vaccination Drive
Virus Outbreak Japan, © AP/Press Association Images
Share this article

By Associated Press Reporters

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways has begun vaccinating its pilots and cabin attendants on international flights.

It is one of the first companies to launch workplace vaccinations in Japan, one of the world’s least-vaccinated nations.

Advertisement

Japan is desperately pushing to accelerate the pace of inoculations before the Tokyo Olympics start in about 40 days.


Virus Outbreak Japan
Flight crews from All Nippon Airlines queue up for their Covid-19 vaccinations at Haneda Airport in Tokyo (Kantaro Komiya/AP)

Following criticism over the slow pace of the vaccine rollout, the government recently unveiled workplace inoculation programmes by major companies to supplement efforts led by municipalities around the country.

Advertisement

On Sunday, 50 ANA pilots and flight attendants dressed in their uniforms received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine at a company inoculation site at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

They are among the 10,000 employees ANA is prioritising. The airline plans to increase its daily vaccination capacity to about 300 to eventually cover all its 46,500 employees.

Satoru Shimizu, a 56-year-old pilot who received his first jab, said he has been nervous about Covid-19 as he flies around the world, but now “I feel so relieved, and I can concentrate on my duty and that will also lead to safety”.

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com