HANOI/TOKYO: Japan is preparing to send some vaccine doses to Malaysia and Vietnam this month, a media report said.
The supply of the inoculation would be made outside the Covax initiative, the World Health Organisation-backed effort to buy and distribute vaccines to low- and middle-income nations, according to a Japanese newspaper report.
The government will offer AstraZeneca vaccine to Malaysia and Vietnam.
The amount of doses will be determined later, report said.
Japan is also considering offering vaccines to Pacific Island countries, according to the newspaper.
Japan on Friday delivered about 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Taiwan.
The Japanese government has sufficient supplies for its own population and it aims at accelerating global vaccination efforts as the slow vaccine rollout creates risks for pandemic.
