{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T11:01:32Z","timestamp":1782903692855,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":7,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]],"date-time":"2024-11-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1730764800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>As of 1 October 2024, Japan implemented a revised coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination strategy, shifting from a fully publicly funded model to one where costs are partially or fully borne by recipients. This new annual program targets individuals aged 65 and above, and those aged 60\u201364 at higher risk of severe illness, requiring them to cover some vaccination expenses. For others, the vaccine remains voluntary and self-funded. Notably, this program includes the world\u2019s first self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, zapomeran (Kostaive\u00ae, Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd.) approved on 28 November 2023. This vaccine\u2019s innovative self-amplifying feature has ignited debates across media platforms, with widespread public division and confusion. The new vaccine encodes replicase proteins and the spike protein antigen, allowing for reduced doses of 5 \u00b5g compared to traditional mRNA vaccines that require 30 \u00b5g. However, concerns have been raised, primarily around four misconceptions: shedding, perpetual mRNA replication, integration into human DNA, and its non-approval situation outside Japan. Despite these scientifically unfounded concerns, they have fueled vaccine hesitancy, influenced by misleading information spreading rapidly on social media. Alarmingly, biased statements from an academic university and an academic society aggravate this hesitancy. Japan\u2019s history has experienced vaccine hesitancies in human papillomavirus and diphtheria\u2013tetanus\u2013pertussis vaccination cases. To prevent a public health crisis, it is crucial that governmental bodies and academic groups actively counter misinformation, advocating for evidence-based understanding and encouraging vaccination among those most at risk.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/qjmed\/hcae214","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]],"date-time":"2024-11-05T09:49:14Z","timestamp":1730800154000},"page":"383-384","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Addressing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation amidst Japan\u2019s self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine rollout"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"118","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9121-4551","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hayase","family":"Hakariya","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tuebingen , Tuebingen,","place":["Germany"]},{"name":"Institute for Pharmaceutical and Social Health Sciences , Ise,","place":["Japan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rio","family":"Ohashi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Pharmaceutical and Social Health Sciences , Ise,","place":["Japan"]},{"name":"Trinity College Dublin, International Foundation Programme, Department of Medicine , Dublin,","place":["Ireland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025090918211939700_hcae214-B1","author":"Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), Japan","year":"2023"},{"key":"2025090918211939700_hcae214-B2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"351","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(23)00650-3","article-title":"Immunogenicity and safety of a booster dose of a self-amplifying RNA COVID-19 vaccine (ARCT-154) versus BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine: a double-blind, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3, non-inferiority trial","volume":"24","author":"Oda","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet Infect Dis"},{"key":"2025090918211939700_hcae214-B3","author":"Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc","year":"2024"},{"key":"2025090918211939700_hcae214-B4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1832","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)01284-9","article-title":"Nationalism in Japanese media coverage of domestic pharmaceutical products","volume":"402","author":"Hakariya","year":"2023","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"2025090918211939700_hcae214-B5","author":"The Japan Nursing Ethics Association","year":"2024"},{"key":"2025090918211939700_hcae214-B6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1634","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciw647","article-title":"Trends of media coverage on human papillomavirus vaccination in Japanese newspapers","volume":"63","author":"Tsuda","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin Infect Dis"},{"key":"2025090918211939700_hcae214-B7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"356","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(97)04334-1","article-title":"Impact of anti-vaccine movements on pertussis control: the untold story","volume":"351","author":"Gangarosa","year":"1998","journal-title":"Lancet"}],"container-title":["QJM: An International Journal of Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/qjmed\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/qjmed\/hcae214\/60634152\/hcae214.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"am","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/qjmed\/article-pdf\/118\/6\/383\/60634152\/hcae214.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/qjmed\/article-pdf\/118\/6\/383\/60634152\/hcae214.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T22:21:23Z","timestamp":1757456483000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/qjmed\/article\/118\/6\/383\/7876290"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]]},"references-count":7,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/qjmed\/hcae214","relation":{},"ISSN":["1460-2725","1460-2393"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1460-2725","type":"print"},{"value":"1460-2393","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published-other":{"date-parts":[[2025,6]]},"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]]}}}