ISTANBUL

Japan on Wednesday began administering COVID-19 booster shots for vaccinated adults.

The authorities are giving third shots of the Pfizer vaccine to those who have received the first two shots eight months ago, Kyodo News reported.

Healthcare professionals are a priority for booster shots.

Japan has fully inoculated 75% of its population.

Japanese government had decided to administer booster shots beginning December after immunity raised by vaccines was “found to wane over time.”

The vaccination campaign began amid concerns over the omicron variant of COVID-19 as Japan detected its first two cases this week.

Japan, so far, has reported 1,727,304 COVID-19 cases, including 18,360 deaths.