Still recruiting for “vaccination part-time jobs” and what they entail

In February of this year, the Omicron strain caused about 100,000 new infections per day nationwide. Although the number is said to be continuing at a high level at present, the reality is that tens of thousands of people are still being infected daily.

The government is consistently pushing for vaccination in order to stop the spread of infection. A reporter from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare at a national newspaper tells us the following.

The government has set up large-scale vaccination centers throughout the country and is recommending a third booster dose of the vaccine, regardless of the manufacturer, such as Pfizer or Moderna. However, the vaccination rate has not increased as much as expected, at about 30%.

One of the reasons cited is the shortage of medical personnel who are willing to give the inoculations. Especially from the rural areas, there is a lamenting voice saying, ‘Even if there is a place, we can’t get around to it. Shigeru Omi, chairman of the government subcommittee, has suggested that a fourth round of vaccinations should be considered, but the field has not been able to keep up with the speed of the process.

In order to secure doctors who are willing to administer the vaccinations, recruitment is taking place on a daily basis in the field. A young resident doctor working at a hospital in Tokyo reveals.

We have a line group for doctors to share information, and we get calls from people asking us to join. Before Corona, it was all about recruiting orthopedic surgeons and doctors-only events (laughs).

The contents of the concern are said to be as follows.

Fat Work

Pre-vaccination interview, post-vaccination adverse reaction confirmation, emergency response

Vaccination site: Chiba Prefecture

Salary: 100,000 yen/day

Working hours: 9:30-18:00

Transportation: 7,000 yen per trip (including train and cab fare)

Number of inoculated persons: 150 scheduled

◯Duties

Pre-vaccination interview, post-vaccination adverse reaction confirmation, emergency response

Vaccination site: Saitama Prefecture

Salary: 110,000 yen/day

Working hours: 9:00 – 17:30

Transportation: 4,000 yen per trip (including train and cab fare)

5,000 yen for accommodation if available for a set of Friday and Saturday.

◯Description of work

Pre-vaccination interview, post-vaccination adverse reaction confirmation, emergency response

Vaccination site: Tokyo, Japan

Salary: 90,000 yen/day (including transportation)

Working hours: 9:00-19:00 (1 hour break)

The young resident physician mentioned above describes the vaccination situation as follows.

The “Man-Proof” status in Tokyo and 15 other prefectures is scheduled to be lifted on March 21, but we are still receiving an incessant flow of offers for part-time vaccine inoculation work, including from private companies. It is obvious that there are not enough people to fill the positions. However, doctors working in clinics and large hospitals are so busy that they do not have time to visit vaccination centers. I think this is why they are also calling on residents and young doctors who have some flexibility in their hours.

A daily allowance of about 100,000 yen is an exceptional amount of money in the eyes of the general public. It is a welcome extra income for residents and young doctors, and it would seem that not a few of them would raise their hands. ……

In fact, not so much. In fact, it is not so. It is quite common to find part-time jobs at beauty and hair removal clinics that pay 10,000 yen per hour. Vaccinations are not that difficult as they are muscle injections, but considering the effort required to travel all the way to the countryside, it is hard to say that the conditions are unbeatable. Therefore, I think there are more people who are applying as a sense of social service and experience. As medical professionals, we all have the feeling of ‘I want the coronas to stop as soon as possible.

However, the truth is that the salary alone is not that attractive. I live in Tokyo, so if there was a part-time job opening in the city, I might go, but I honestly wonder if I would go all the way to the countryside on my days off. I think the number of job openings themselves will probably increase as we move forward with more vaccinations.

Even if there are places, there is no one to play the game. It seems that there are still many issues to be addressed in vaccination.