All national papers except Mainichi highlighted TV remarks made on Sunday by Administrative Minister Kono who said booster shots are likely to be administered to healthcare workers in late October or early November at the earliest by tapping some 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine scheduled for delivery between October and December. The elderly will probably start receiving their booster shots in January or February. The cabinet minister disclosed that the Health Ministry is currently weighing the pros and cons of administering the AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose and the Pfizer product for the second dose.

In a related development, Nikkei wrote that a large number of companies and other entities have canceled their plans to set up vaccination platforms as the GOJ has not been able to deliver the Moderna vaccine as previously promised. The number of such facilities launched nationwide as of Aug. 24 was 4,114, 20% fewer than planned in June.