Additional Information on the COVID-19 Vaccine (3rd Dose)

1　Objective of the booster shot

The COVID vaccine is effective in preventing the spread and symptoms of the virus, and it is suggested that the effectveness of the vaccine decreases over time. Due to this, from the viewpoint of avoiding spread and increasing severity of infection, we are providing a booster shot to those who have received two doses of the vaccine.

2　Eligibility

• Anyone who is over 18 years of age and 6-8 months has passed since the second dose

Category	December 2021~	February 2022~	March 2022~
Healthcare workers and elderly care patients	6 months
Other elderly persons (65 years and older)	8 months	7 months	6 months
64 years old and below	8 months		7 months

Important: It is possible to receive your booster shot earlier than scheduled, even if you are a regular person. Please contact your local municipality for further details.

Important: The vaccination schedule may differ depending on your local municipality. Please pay close attention to any annoucements from your local municipality.

3　Cost of the Vaccination & Vaccination Period

As with the first and second doses, the booster shot is free.

Currently, the planned period to administer the booster shot is from December 1st 2021 to September 30th 2022.

4　Vaccine used for the booster shot

Regardless of the vaccine used for the first and second doses, mRNA vaccines (Pfizer Comirnaty and Takeda/Moderna) have been recommended for use as the booster shot.

Important: The dosage amount for the Takeda/Moderna booster shot is half of the amount administered in the first two doses.

5　Mixing vaccines

According to research from the UK, a person who had the Pfizer vaccine for their first two shots and had Moderna for their booster experiences the same increase in resistance as someone who had Pfizer for all three doses. The side effects are of the same level regardless of the vaccine combination.

6　Side effects from the booster dose

Regarding the approval of the usage of the Pfizer and Takeda/Moderna vaccines, the side effects within the first 7 days of either vaccine appears to be the same as the first and second doses, excluding a small number of symptoms which displayed a significant difference.

Percentage of occurrence of symptoms	Pfizer (percentage of people who showed symptoms 2nd→3rd dose)	Takeda/Moderna (percentage of people who showed symptoms 2nd→3rd dose)
Over 50%	Pain (78.3→83.0%), Tiredness (59.4→63.7%)	Pain (88.3→83.8%), Tiredness (65.4→58.7%), Headaches (58.8→55.1%)
10-50%	Headaches (54.0→48.4%), Muscle Pain (39.3→39.1%), Chills (37.8→29.1%), Joint Pain (23.8→25.3%)	Muscle Pain (58.1→49.1%), Joint Pain (42.9→41.3%), Chills (44.3→35.3%), Lymphedema (14.2→20.4%)
1-10%	High Fever over 38 degrees (16.4→8.7%), Inflammation (6.8→8.0%), Rashes (5.6→5.9%), Lymphedema ＊ (0.4→5.2%)	High Fever over 38 degrees (15.5→6.6%), Inflammation/Induration (12.3→5.4%), Erythema/Rashes (8.7→4.8%)

(Important):
Target/Number of People:
Pfizer 2nd dose 16/55 years/2,682 people
Pfizer 3rd dose 18-55 years old/289 people
Moderna 2nd dose 18 years and over/14,691 people
Moderna 3rd dose 18 years and over/167 people
(Important): The Takeda/Moderna vaccines uses 100ug in each of the first two doses, and only 50ug in the third dose
＊ The lymphedema data for the Pfizer vaccine was calculated within the first month after the vaccine was administered

Reference: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Leaflet