Covid 19 Vaccine Minister Taro Kono, center, and Masayoshi Son, chief executive of technology company SoftBank Group Corp., left, speak to media after visiting an inoculation site set up by Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. at a WeWork office Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Tokyo. Japanese companies have joined the effort to speed up the country’s lagging coronavirus vaccine rollout before the Tokyo Olympics begin next month. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama) Staff members wearing face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, prepare at a lottery registration counter in a Grand Central residential building complex in Hong Kong, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. A property developer offered a HK$10.8 million (US$1.4 million) 449 square feet single-room flat as a prize in a lucky draw to boost Hong Kong's COVID-19 vaccination rates. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) In this June 4, 2021, file photo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom holds up a lottery ball at the California Lottery Headquarters on Friday, June 4, 2021, in Sacramento, Calif., while drawing numbers for California's new vaccine incentive program. California, the first state in America to put in place a coronavirus lockdown, is now turning a page on the pandemic. Most of California's coronavirus restrictions will disappear Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP, File)/The Sacramento Bee via AP) In this May 17, 2021, file photo, some visitors wear face masks outdoors while taking pictures of the Hollywood sign at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. California, the first state in America to put in place a coronavirus lockdown, is now turning a page on the pandemic. Most of California's coronavirus restrictions will disappear Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) People wearing face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, line up to register for a lottery in a Grand Central residential building complex in Hong Kong, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. A property developer offered a HK$10.8 million (US$1.4 million) 449 square feet single-room flat as a prize in a lucky draw to boost Hong Kong's COVID-19 vaccination rates. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) A medical worker gives a jab of the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 during a mass vaccination for retail workers at a stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. The world's fourth-most populous country, with about 275 million people, has reported more coronavirus cases than any other Southeast Asian country.(AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) In this Saturday, July 4, 2020, file photo, Fourth of July fireworks explode over the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol along the National Mall in Washington. President Joe Biden wants to imbue Independence Day with new meaning in 2021 by encouraging nationwide celebrations to mark the country’s effective return to normalcy after 16 months of pandemic disruption. The White House says the National Mall in Washington will host the traditional fireworks ceremony and it's encouraging other communities hold festivities as well. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) A man receives a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 during a mass vaccination for retail workers at a stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. The world's fourth-most populous country, with about 275 million people, has reported more coronavirus cases than any other Southeast Asian country.(AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) Health workers, wearing face shield, check with elderly Taiwanese people before the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination at a primary school in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Police officers wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus, stand guard during a rally in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) A medical worker gets Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation site set up by Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. at a WeWork office Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Tokyo. Japanese companies have joined the effort to speed up the country’s lagging coronavirus vaccine rollout before the Tokyo Olympics begin next month. (AP Photo/Yuri Kageyama) Chief of the main operation centre of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Hidemasa Nakamura attends an online press briefing for the presentation of the version three of Tokyo 2020 Playbook in Tokyo on June 15, 2021. (Behrouz Mehri/Pool Photo via AP) Olympic Games Executive Director of IOC Christophe Dubi speaks during a virtual press briefing for the presentation of the version three of Tokyo 2020 Playbook in Tokyo on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (Behrouz Mehri/Pool Photo via AP) People ride an escalator at a shopping mall after restrictions requiring face masks indoors was lifted, in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Israel lifted one of its last coronavirus restrictions Tuesday following a highly successful vaccination campaign. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) People ride an elevators at a shopping mall after restrictions requiring face masks indoors was lifted, in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Israel lifted one of its last coronavirus restrictions Tuesday following a highly successful vaccination campaign. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau watches as boxes containing the COVID-19 vaccine are packed for shipping at a Pfizer vaccine facility Tuesday June 15, 2021 in Puurs, Belgium. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) A worker wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus sorts carrots at a wholesale market Mumbai, India, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) A worker sorts baskets at wholesale market in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) A worker wearing a face mask as precaution against the coronavirus waits for work at a wholesale market in Mumbai, India Tuesday, June 15, 2021, (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
TOKYO — Japanese companies have joined the effort to speed up the country’s lagging coronavirus vaccine rollout before the Tokyo Olympics begin next month.
Japan’s vaccination program has been the slowest among developed nations, with about 5% of its population fully vaccinated. The government recently unveiled workplace inoculation efforts by major companies to supplement those led by local governments.
Energy and technology giant SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son visited a company vaccination site on Tuesday. He says the company plans 15 such sites to vaccinate 250,000 people, including SoftBank employees and their families.
Other companies like Toyota Motor Corp., Rakuten, Suntory, Fujitsu and ANA also are joining the vaccination campaign.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is determined to hold the Olympics in Tokyo after a one-year delay and has made an ambitious pledge to finish vaccinating the country’s 36 million elderly people by the end of July.
Vaccinations have been slowed by reservation procedures, distribution issues and shortages of medical staff to give shots.
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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:
— White House to host July 4 “independence from virus” bash
— Japanese companies set up vaccination sites to help with inoculation effort
— California, first US state to go under lockdown, is beginning its “Grand Reopening”
— Emirates Air posts $5.5B loss as virus disrupts travel
— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Authorities in Malaysia have granted conditional approval to two more vaccines as they aim to achieve herd immunity to the coronavirus in the country by the end of the year.
Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said Tuesday that single dose vaccines produced by China’s CanSino Biologics and American company Johnson & Johnson were granted conditional approval for emergency use.
Malaysia already has been using the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac. Noor Hisham said the J&J vaccine will be obtained from the global COVAX facility but didn’t give details.
Noor Hisham said the Malaysian health ministry has also given authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be given to children older than 12. Only people over 18 so far have been eligible for the government’s voluntary vaccination program.
Malaysia has been under a large-scale lockdown since June 1 as it struggles to daily infections. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address on Tuesday that restrictions will be lifted in phases.
Malaysia has reported more than 662,000 confirmed virus cases with nearly 4,000 deaths. Less than 10% of the nation’s 32 million people have been vaccinated so far.
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BERLIN — Germany’s health minister says the country has issued nearly 5 million vaccination certificates that are designed to be part of a European Union-wide digital pass system.
Germany launched the rollout of the certificates late last week. Users can download proof of their coronavirus vaccination status onto a smartphone app.
Pharmacies across the country started issuing certificates on Monday to people who have been fully vaccinated and so far have only analogue proof.
The certificates can also be issued on-site by large vaccination centers. German officials say they have already been used by travelers at European borders without problems.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said as he arrived at a meeting with European Union colleagues in Luxembourg on Tuesday that 5 million certificates would be issued by the end of the day.
As of Monday, 22.3 million people in Germany had been fully vaccinated, 26.8% of the country’s population.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden wants to imbue America's Independence Day with new meaning this year by encouraging nationwide celebrations to mark the country’s effective return to normalcy after 16 months of coronavirus pandemic disruption.
Even as the U.S. is set to record Tuesday its 600,000th death in the pandemic, the White House is expressing growing certainty that July 4th will serve as a breakthrough moment in the nation’s recovery. That’s even though the U.S. is not expected to quite reach its goal of having 70% of adults vaccinated by the holiday.
As COVID-19 case rates and deaths drop to levels not seen since the first days of the outbreak, Biden is proclaiming “a summer of freedom” to celebrate Americans resuming their pre-pandemic lives.
The holiday will see the largest event yet of Biden’s presidency: He plans to host first responders, essential workers and military servicemembers and their families on the South Lawn for a cookout and to watch the fireworks over the National Mall. Well more than 1,000 guests are expected, officials said, with final arrangements still to be sorted out.
Just three months ago cautiously, the president cautiously held out hope that people might be able to hold small cookouts by the Fourth of July.
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LONDON — The British government fended off calls to provide more financial support to businesses and workers who will suffer financially from its decision to delay the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in England by four weeks to July 19.
Although large parts of the U.K. economy have reopened, a number of businesses, particularly those in the hospitality and entertainment sectors, have not been able to do so because it was not financially viable under restrictions that limited how many people they could serve.
After months of planning, those businesses had been preparing to reopen on June 21, the date the government had earmarked for the possible lifting of remaining restrictions on social contact.
However, a recent spike in new infections involving the more contagious delta variant that was first identified in India upended that plan.
Following the delay announcement, unions joined with business leaders to urge the government to compensate affected workers and establishments.
The Confederation of British Industry urged the government to hold back on the planned tapering of tax relief for businesses and extend the commercial rent moratorium for the industries most impacted.
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JERUSALEM — Israel is no longer requiring masks indoors, lifting one of its last coronavirus restrictions following a highly successful vaccination campaign.
The restriction was lifted on Tuesday, though people will still be required to wear masks on airplanes and on their way to quarantine. Unvaccinated individuals must wear masks in nursing homes and other long-term health facilities.
Israel has vaccinated around 85% of its adult population, allowing schools and businesses to fully reopen. There are only a few dozen active patients in the country of more than 9 million.
Authorities have been cautious about welcoming visitors, however, because of concerns over new variants. Israel welcomed its first tour group late last month. All tourists must show proof of vaccination and be tested upon arrival.
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HONOLULU — Hawaii says a vaccinated Oahu resident who traveled to Nevada last month has tested positive for the delta variant of COVID-19.
The delta variant was first detected in India and is a more transmissible version of the disease. The variant currently makes up 6% of all cases in the U.S.
Hawaii Health Director Dr. Libby Char says this is a “very rare breakthrough” case in which a COVID-19 vaccine didn’t prevent infection.
New analysis from researchers in the U.K. shows the Pfizer vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalization from the delta variant.
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DECATUR, Georgia — A sheriff says a grocery store cashier has been killed in a shooting and three others wounded followed an argument over wearing face masks at an Atlanta-area supermarket.
DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox said the shooting occurred Monday inside the Big Bear Supermarket in Decatur, a suburb east of Atlanta. Maddox said a man was arguing with a cashier over wearing a face mask when he pulled a weapon and shot the female cashier.
Authorities said a deputy working store security returned fire and shot the man. Maddox says the deputy, the suspected shooter and one other person were wounded. Decatur is a suburban community east of Atlanta.
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