Getting A Covid Jab For Tokyo Youth Is Like Trying To Buy A PS5

Getting A Covid Jab For Tokyo Youth Is Like Trying To Buy A PS5

When video game consoles from Sony and Nintendo launch in Japan, you can count on two things: long lines and lottery systems. You probably wouldn’t expect that for Covid-19 vaccinations.

In Japan, people typically wait in line for tickets when hardware is sort supply. Even now, as Famitsu reports, this lottery system is still being used for the hard-to-get PlayStation 5, albeit hopeful customers can enter online. Earlier in the pandemic, however, the in-person system was used at an Osaka retailer for the Nintendo Switch. That incident caused controversy at the time, because of the disregard for social distancing.

Japan has ramped up its Covid-19 vaccination effort as many parts of the country are still under a state of emergency. The overall vaccination rate is 43 per cent, and it’s still not easy for many to get their jabs. Depending on the city or the area, there are different protocols. In the part of Osaka Prefecture where I live, you can either call or try to reserve online once you have a voucher ticket. Spots do fill up quickly, and some continue to check back on a weekly basis before successfully reserving a time.

Getting A Covid Jab For Tokyo Youth Is Like Trying To Buy A PS5

However, last Friday, Tokyo’s Shibuya launched a walk-up vaccination centre for young people aged 16 to 39 that did not require reservations. On Friday, the plan was to open at noon and offer 200 does. This was an underestimation of how many Tokyo young people want to get vaccinated. NHK reports that that by 7:30 AM, there were already 300 people in line, and the line was closed shortly thereafter.

“I got here at 3AM,” one man told NHK. “I haven’t been able to get an appointment for a jab in the ward where I live.”

On the second day, the centre switched to a console-launch-style lottery system. While the results were passed out in person, the results were announced online.

The line stretched nearly 853.44 m, almost to Harajuku Station. The vaccination centre passed out tickets to 2,226 people. Out of those, 354 won the chance to be vaccinated.

A helicopter shot of the vaccination line in Shibuya.  (Screenshot: JNN/YouTube)
A helicopter shot of the vaccination line in Shibuya. (Screenshot: JNN/YouTube)

Japanese media networks, including FNN, JNN, covered the lines like they would for a PlayStation or Apple launch, filming people sitting in camping chairs and interviewing who did and did not get winning tickets.

“It wouldn’t have been necessary to come all the way to the centre if applications had been accepted online,” said one university student to Jiji Press.

“If it’s going to be like this, it would be better just to increase the number of slots in municipal vaccinations,” 36-year-old Yoshimasa Iizuka, who didn’t get a winning ticket, told Mainichi News.

“I felt anxious lining with people I didn’t know,” said 27-year-old Yui Takata, who got a winning vaccination ticket. “I think having online reservations would be best.”

Besides Covid-19, there are also obvious concerns about heatstroke.

Yesterday, the Shibuya vaccination centre did not allow a massive line to form, but still distributed lottery tickets to 1,357 people. Out of that, 354 won the chance to be vaccinated. The centre, Nippon News Network adds, did not offer vaccinations today.

The line stretched at least 850 meters long. According to other reports, it was even longer.   (Screenshot: JNN/YouTube)
The line stretched at least 850 meters long. According to other reports, it was even longer. (Screenshot: JNN/YouTube)

Hopefully in the coming days and weeks it will be easier to reserve vaccination spots.

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