Petty Officer n 3rd Class Coltin Russel, from Gonzales, Texas, administers flu shots on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Washi., Oct. 11, 2023. (Tomas Valdes/U.S. Navy)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – Medical professionals at this airlift hub in western Tokyo are prepping to administer flu shots ahead of other Indo-Pacific bases as flu season approaches.
“We want to safeguard our community against the spread of infectious diseases; increasing vaccination rates will lead to a reduction in the number of flu cases,” Dr. (Capt.) Lusine Zakharian, 374th Medical Group medical director of allergy and immunizations, told Stars and Stripes in an email from the wing public affairs office Sept. 4.
The flu season typically stretches from December to March, but struck early in Japan last year, the Japan Times reported in September 2023. This year, influenza is already quickly spreading across the country, according to Sept. 4-10 data from the Japan Ministry of Health. Some schools closed to prevent further spread of the viral disease.
Yokota is planning shot lines for flu vaccinations on Sept. 19 and 26 and again Oct. 1 and 3, Master Sgt. Nathaniel Allen, a spokesman for the 374th Airlift Wing, said in an email Wednesday.
The base planned to start Tuesday but had estimated the vaccine arrival date based on last year’s date and was consequently off by one week, he wrote.
Active-duty personnel, Tricare beneficiaries, Defense Department civilians, including schoolteachers, their families and contractors required to get vaccines, such as Child Development Center Employees, and other eligible beneficiaries may receive their shots at the walk-in lines.
The vaccine will be available at the medical group immunizations clinic for anyone who can’t make the lines, Zakharian said. Demand will dictate whether the clinic will provide walk-in or appointment-based service, she said.
The vaccines are sourced from the United States, Zakharian said. They are the same ones offered in the U.S. and are FDA approved.
Most U.S. bases in the Indo-Pacific won’t start vaccinating until October.
“We usually receive them near the end of September and start vaccinating in early October,” said Capt. Casey Bell, a spokesperson for Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, via email Sept. 5. “The vaccines must go through rigorous temperature and safety checks before they are released for our use.”
Active-duty personnel will have priority, followed by all other beneficiaries, Bell said. Contractors must obtain their flu shots from an outside facility, however.
School employees and other beneficiaries may expect their shots in mid- to late October.
Osan Air Base in South Korea also expects to administer the shots next month, Maj. Kippun Sumner, spokesman for the 51st Fighter Wing, said via email Friday.
U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa won’t receive the shots till mid-October, Trey Savitz, a hospital spokesman said by phone Thursday.
Yokosuka Naval Hospital, south of Tokyo, will distribute the vaccine to the base and tenant commands starting Oct. 24, hospital spokesman Daniel Taylor said via email Thursday.
More than 44,900 people are estimated to have died from flu complications in the last flu season, according to a June news release from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC recommends an updated flu vaccine this fall and winter, the release stated.
The updated 2024-25 vaccines will all be trivalent and will protect against an H1N1, H3N2 and a B/Victoria lineage virus, according to the release. This season’s vaccine composition is updated with a new influenza A (H3N2) virus.
