During a press conference this week, Japan Medical Association director, and old friend of this blog, Dr Satoshi Kamayachi opined on future Covid vaccination campaigns.
“No need”? So what recent discoveries have come to light to change Dr Kamayachi’s mind?
“The proportion of people who are under 65 years old or don’t have underlying medical conditions who become seriously ill isn’t very high. Rather than making people get vaccinated to suppress infections, we have entered a period where the decision is up to individuals.”
The first sentence could’ve been said in Feb 2020 when data from the Diamond Princess cruise ship came in. The second sentence is worth a chuckle: Japan’s endless booster campaigns may have done several things, but “suppress infections” wasn’t one of them.
Next, Dr Kamayachi touched upon the evergreen issue of vax safety.
“It is very important to respond to people who become ill after being vaccinated. It has been pointed out that the adjudication (of compensation claims) may have been slow, and the JMA wants to do its best (to help).”
The adjudication of compensation claims isn’t the only thing that’s been slow. Dr Kamayachi is the first high profile figure in 2.5 years to acknowledge post-vax injuries without uttering the party line that “The benefits outweigh the risks” for everyone 6 months and older. In case you were wondering, the Japanese government has so far compensated 3534 people for the medical costs incurred due to post-Covid vax injuries, exceeding the 3522 people compensated for medical costs incurred due to all other jabs since 1977.
To avoid Dr Kamayachi’s statements being blown out of proportion outside of Japan (like the time when the head of the Tokyo Medical Association recommended ivermectin), I should point out that the JMA is a private organisation, albeit one very close of the Japanese government. But last September, Dr Kamayachi was telling everyone to get Covid and flu jabs at the same, so it’s nice to see one member of Japan’s medical establishment say something semi-sensible for a change.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for PM Kishida or Health Minister Kato to say anything similar though.
It will be interesting to see if those in the West learned their lesson with the ivermectin debacle or if they will latch on to this. The third and I think more probable outcome is that it will not even be noticed. Covid is over most places outside Japan with a few other holdouts, perhaps. The jabby mad maskers are trying to get everyone to move on and forget what they did to us.
A tiny light at the end of the tunnel?
How long before the blatantly guilty are held to account?