More than 50,000 medical workers in Japan have now gotten a third jab of a coronavirus vaccine. And the health ministry has begun accepting applications from businesses and universities that want to offer booster shots themselves.

All Nippon Airways is one of the around 800 organizations that applied on Monday. It plans to start with pilots and flight attendants on international lines.

The airline company's Sasaki Yohei says, "We'd like to create an environment where customers can use our service with peace of mind."

Hiroshima University in western Japan also applied on the first day. It plans to ask students if they want to receive a third jab.

One female student says, "If third doses are available, I want to get one. I hope it will help prevent infection or severe symptoms."

Health ministry officials say approved applicants will get their first deliveries of the Moderna vaccine in mid-February.

They would start administering them in March.

To qualify, workplaces must be prepared to inoculate at least 1,000 people, in principle.

People can receive a third shot 8 months after their second one. A virology expert says he believes booster shots could help protect people against the Omicron variant, which is spreading globally.

Kitasato University Professor Nakayama Tetsuo says, "The variant could avoid antibodies with its mutations.
But a booster shot would induce cell immunity that could respond to a wide range of mutations. If a high level of cell immunity is maintained, it will likely prevent the virus from causing serious symptoms."

The health ministry confirmed 4 more Omicron infections on Monday, bringing the total number of cases detected in Japan to 17.

The four infected people tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival in Japan. They had been in Nigeria, Kenya or the United States.

The World Health Organization says early data suggest the Omicron variant will likely outpace the Delta strain where community transmission occurs.

Omicron has been detected in more than 60 countries and regions.

Britain's prime minister is urging the public to recognize the sheer pace of the variant's spread in his country and get booster shots.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "By tomorrow, it will be the majority of the cases and it's increasing the whole time. And sadly, yes, Omicron is producing hospitalizations, and sadly, at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died with Omicron."

And China's state-run media say the first Omicron case in mainland China was a person who arrived in the city of Tianjin from abroad on Thursday.