Tokyo, June 12 (Jiji Press)–Two-thirds of reservation slots for COVID-19 vaccine shots for elderly people at mass inoculation sites operated by the Self-Defense Forces in Tokyo and Osaka between Monday and June 27 are still available, the Defense Ministry said Saturday.
   

According to the ministry, a total of some 70,000 people had made reservations as of 5 p.m. Saturday (8 a.m. GMT), against some 210,000 slots available at the venues.
   

In the week through June 20, reservations reached 44 pct of the capacity at the Tokyo venue and 76 pct at the site in the western city of Osaka.
   

For the week through June 27, the share stood at only 11 pct at both venues.
   

The scope of eligible people had been limited to those aged 65 or older in Tokyo as well as Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures. But the ministry removed the limitation on Thursday evening and started accepting appointments from across the country as many reservation slots remained unfilled.
   

At 7 a.m. Saturday, the ministry started accepting reservations by phone. Previously, reservations could be made only through the ministry’s website or the Line free messaging app.
   

The ministry is calling on citizens to make early reservations, as the SDF-run venues will be used mostly for those receiving their second shots from June 28.