Japan may approve the use of COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca as well as Moderna Inc by May 20, reported the Nikkei.

Health ministry officials are expected to convene around that date to discuss approval. The vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE is the only COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved in Japan thus far. Approvals for other vaccines are expected soon; however, no specific dates have been confirmed yet.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has assured that the country will have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for the 126 million peopleby June, before the Tokyo Olympic Games begin on July 23… (Reuters, May 7, 2021)