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On June 1, 2021, the Prime Minister held the 34th meeting of the Headquarters for Healthcare Policy at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the strategy for strengthening systems to develop and produce vaccines.

Following the discussions, the Prime Minister said,
 
 “Vaccines are our trump card in tackling the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In U.S. and European countries, vaccines of several companies have been put into practical use, and vaccinations have proved clearly effective with the progress in inoculations.
 
Against this backdrop, the Government is taking all possible measures to dramatically accelerate vaccinations, in order to administer vaccines to those who wish to receive inoculations at the earliest possible time.
 
Meanwhile, we have provided support for research and development via emergency measures so far, but no domestically developed vaccines have been brought into practical use yet, and we rely on the supply of U.S. and European vaccines.
 
The establishment of systems to develop and produce vaccines domestically, thereby allowing for swift vaccination, is extremely important in terms of crisis management, not to mention its contribution to maintaining the health of citizens.
 
To this end, the strategy for strengthening systems to develop and produce vaccines was compiled as a national strategy to make long-term, continuous, and government-wide efforts, including establishing the world’s top-class research and development centers, creating an environment for clinical trials and expediting the pharmaceutical approval process, and establishing vaccine manufacturing hubs, so as to thoroughly respond not only to COVID-19 this time, but also to new emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the future.
 
I ask each relevant minister to work as one under this vaccine strategy.”