Japan has begun the administration of its first vaccinations to medical workers. The inoculation campaign began using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at the National Hospital Organisation Tokyo Medical Center.

Medical workers will be the first to receive the jabs. Around 40,000 of the medical workers at the 100 facilities nationwide will be receiving the jabs. 20,000 of those workers will be asked to maintain records daily for seven weeks after two shots given three weeks apart.

The survey will be done to determine if there are any adverse effects of the jabs and other related information.

Head of the National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center Kazuhiro Araki said he hopes those participating in the study will "help both staff and patients prevent infections." 

Araki was also the first person to receive the vaccine.

Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga said that vaccines are essential to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic.

"The vaccines will be the decisive factor in fighting the coronavirus," Suga said, adding that he would continue to push forward with the rollout while keeping the public informed.

Following the initial round of medical workers being inoculated, in March, around 3.7 million health workers will also begin receiving the vaccine, followed by 36 million people aged 65 or older from April.