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Tohoku University, Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City have jointly set up a large-scale coronavirus vaccination centre on the 4th floor of Yodobashi Camera Building 2, next to Sendai Station. It is the first time that a national university is providing full support to a vaccination centre in Japan.

Deputy Director of Tohoku University Hospital Hideo Harigae will serve as director of the centre, and the university will provide 15 doctors and pharmacists, who will prepare and administer the vaccine, as well as offer consultation and emergency care. The Prefectural Nursing Association will also assign medical staff.

The centre has 12 pre-examination rooms and 15 vaccination rooms, making it possible for up to 2,100 people to be vaccinated each day. On the first day of operations on May 24, about 1,500 people who had made reservations, were vaccinated. Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai and Sendai City Mayor Kazuko Kori who visited the centre, said they were impressed by how smoothly it ran.

Harigae said that he could feel the "high expectations of the residents" and expressed his confidence that the centre will improve the efficiency of Miyagi's vaccination rollout and help make the region safer against the coronavirus. "Protecting the health and lifestyle of our community is one of the most important missions of Tohoku University Hospital."

For now, Miyagi residents aged 65 and over, can make a reservation at the centre to get their first shot of the Moderna vaccine, which was approved by the government on May 21. They can also receive their second shot at the centre about four weeks later.

The vaccination centre is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day including weekends, but reservations must be made in advance. Reservations will be accepted from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. through the city's dedicated hotline, (0570) 055-670.