Japanese Medical Experts : Vaccines are the Only Guarantee that the Tokyo Olympics can be Held

In Tokyo, August 18,Yoshiharu Matsuura, a professor at the Institute of Microbiological Diseases at Osaka University, Japan, said recently that if there is no effective vaccine for the new coronavirus pneumonia, the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be difficult to hold next year.

Yoshiharu Matsuura revealed that in order to ensure that the Olympics are held, the Japanese government is focusing on developing vaccines. He said, 'They (the Japanese government) want the Olympics to be held next year, and said that vaccines are the only way to ensure that the Olympics are held.'

Yoshiharu Matsuura received his doctorate from Hokkaido University, Japan in 1986, and later worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Virology at Oxford University. After returning to Japan, he worked as the head of the Hepatitis Virus Laboratory at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and at Osaka University from 2015 to 2019. Director of the Institute of Microbiology.

The epidemic situation in Japan has been severe since July, and confirmed cases have continued to create new highs. On the 17th, there were 644 new confirmed cases nationwide and 15 new deaths, including 161 new confirmed cases in Tokyo. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has warned that if the epidemic situation in the capital continues to worsen, he cannot rule out declaring Tokyo into a state of emergency again.

The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee said earlier that they will hold a meeting with the Japanese government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in September to discuss epidemic prevention measures for the Olympic Games next year.