Carlton here with an update for some at least on booster vaccinations in Kumamoto city.

First of all, hats off to Kumamoto City’s 24-7 Covid hotline for foreign residents. I gave it a call earlier today at this number: 092-687-7962. It is not a toll-free call.

The line was answered in two rings by a man speaking Japanese who then also said “hello”. I told him that I wished to use English and he told me to hold. This hotline is supposedly able to handle the following languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai, Nepalese, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Malay, Burmese, Khmer, Mongolian, Sinhala

After a very short pause a fluent English-speaking woman came on the line and I told her first that it was not an emergency and that I was not sick. The main purpose of the line is to help people who cannot speak Japanese to report symptoms of suspected Covid infection and get help.

I told her I just had questions about how one could learn about getting a booster shot. She then took down my inquiry and asked me to hold while she arranged to get the answers.

Another not long pause and she was back on the line in a 3 way conversation now with a representative of the Kumamoto government Covid-19 Consultation Center. The lady assisting me then relayed my questions in Japanese to the consultant, and then translated the responses back to me in English. We could all hear each other, and it was accomplished smoothly and professionally.

The questions I asked pertained to my particular situation but I’m happy to share what I found out.. I am over 65 years in age and received my 2nd Pfizer vaccination on June 9 of 2021 at a Kumamoto clinic. As more than 6 months have passed since June 9 I knew I was eligible for a booster jab, and I wanted to know how to go about getting one ASAP.

The answer was that all Kumamoto residents over 65 years old who received their vaccinations in Kumamoto and have passed 7 months since their 2nd jab will automatically be mailed “coupons” for them to use to get their boosters. In my case I was told to expect to get my coupon by mid-January and then follow through accordingly.

I was told that if I had not received my coupon by mid January that I should call the Covid Vaccination Call Center at 096-300-5577 to report the problem. The translator told me she thought that number would also be handled by multilingual personnel as well when it begins operation.

For any of you reading this, here is the website with the information, links, and telephone number for you to remember. I recommend bookmarking this: http://www.kuma-koku.jp/support-center/page249.html