About 800 staff members of the hospital will be inoculated in the initial round. After the shots, the recipients will be monitored for 15 minutes. There have been no reports of any severe reactions.

The head nurse of the hospital said, "I think it will be great if I can work without feeling anxious for myself, or for society, so I am relieved that I'm vaccinated and can be part of this first step."

Healthcare workers at 100 hospitals across Japan are receiving Pfizer's vaccine. The government will analyze data from the first 20,000 recipients to check for side effects. The inoculations will eventually be expanded to about 3.7 million medical workers, and then to elderly people.

Japan Medical Association President Nakagawa Toshio said, "We should bring down the number of new infections as much as possible before the nationwide vaccination rollout. That will pave the way for getting the virus under control."

One business leader is welcoming the development.

The chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mimura Akio, said, "We are very much hopeful that we will be able to increase economic activities while preventing the spread of infection."

But a member of the government's expert panel is warning against being too hasty, because that may lead to unexpected problems or accidents.

Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health chief Okabe Nobuhiko said, "Speed and safety are equally important. We must try to have as many people as possible safely inoculated."

Health authorities across Japan reported more than 1,400 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday with 79 deaths. Currently 607 people are in serious condition.