South Korea expects first batch of COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX within weeks

By Sangmi Cha

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea expects its first batch of coronavirus vaccines from the global COVAX vaccine sharing program in a few weeks and has started setting up vaccination centers, a ministry spokesperson said on Thursday inside.

The delivery is expected to speed up the vaccination campaign, which is due to start no earlier than the end of February, as South Korea has yet to finalize priority groups and detailed vaccination plans.

Interior Ministry deputy spokesman Park Jong-hyun told Reuters: “100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine for 50,000 people could arrive before the Lunar New Year holiday through the COVAX facility.”

The holidays begin on February 11 of this year.

The ministry has designated about 250 spacious indoor gyms and theaters across the country to immunize people with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that require cold chain storage, Park said.

Vaccinations will start as soon as possible, but the exact date has not yet been decided, he said.

South Korea has yet to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine, but the World Health Organization, which runs the COVAX program, cleared the vaccine at the end of December.

South Korea has said it aims to ensure herd immunity to the virus through mass vaccinations by November, but some medical experts have questioned the plan, citing slow progress in training the virus. personnel for storage, distribution and inoculation.

For inoculations using AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines that do not require ultra-cold storage, authorities will designate 10,000 hospitals and clinics nationwide, Park said.

The country has obtained 106 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, more than enough for its 52 million people, from COVAX, Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

It is also in talks to buy 40 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Novavax.

South Korea reported 401 new infections on Wednesday, bringing its total to 73,918 cases, with 1,316 deaths.

(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Clarence Fernandez)