"Korea Joins Vaccine Procurement Race to Secure at Least 70% of Population"

International Cooperation and Individual Negotiations... 'Two-Track' Securing Strategy
"National Dose Target, At Least Achieving Herd Immunity Level"

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo is speaking at the 4th meeting of the 'Government-wide Support Committee for COVID-19 Therapeutics and Vaccine Development' held on the 9th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The government aims to secure a quantity of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines sufficient for the entire population to be vaccinated, but if this proves difficult, it will at least pursue securing enough doses to achieve herd immunity at the level of 70% of the population.

The Pan-Government Support Group for COVID-19 Therapeutics and Vaccine Development discussed strategies for COVID-19 vaccine procurement at its 5th meeting held on the 21st at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.

To this end, the government will secure vaccines through a 'two-track' approach involving both vaccine development and international cooperation as well as individual negotiations. Specifically, it plans to join international projects for vaccine distribution to strengthen cooperation with various countries while continuing negotiations with individual pharmaceutical companies leading vaccine development.

The government will first participate in global joint vaccine development and distribution. The Pan-Government Committee officially announced on this day that it will participate in the international project for joint vaccine purchase and distribution called the 'COVAX Facility' (hereafter COVAX). COVAX, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), and GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization), aims to supply vaccines equally to 20% of the world's population. The goal is to jointly develop vaccines as an international public good and to have a voice in establishing supply order.

Separately, negotiations with companies leading vaccine development will continue. In particular, for companies showing promising success in vaccine development such as entering Phase 3 clinical trials, the government plans to pay advance funds to secure doses in advance. Previously, the Ministry of Health and Welfare signed letters of intent for vaccine supply cooperation with AstraZeneca-SK Bioscience on the 21st of last month and with Novavax-SK Bioscience on the 13th of this month.

Vaccine procurement will proceed in two stages. Considering the number of priority vaccination target groups, the government will first secure doses for 16 to 20 million people (32 to 40 million doses), then additionally procure vaccines through consignment production and direct import. The government plans to secure at least one vaccine per platform and operate a dedicated team at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to approve and release vaccines promptly for timely use.

The government is reviewing a plan to vaccinate healthcare workers, essential social facility workers, military personnel, the elderly, and people with underlying health conditions in the first stage, and adults and children in the second stage. The timing of vaccination will be decided considering the domestic COVID-19 epidemic situation, other vaccination cases and side effects, and public demand. Once vaccination is decided, the government will establish a 'Vaccination Implementation Plan' by October to enable rapid execution, as well as prepare a 'Standard Method for Risk Management Plan Preparation' and explanatory materials for patients.

Park Neung-hoo, Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, "Securing therapeutics and vaccines is paramount to overcoming COVID-19 and regaining our safe daily lives," adding, "Since concerns about vaccine side effects are significant, we plan to broadly gather expert opinions during the preparatory process for vaccine introduction and vaccination."

Choi Ki-young, Minister of Science and ICT, said, "Given the recent increase in confirmed cases centered in the metropolitan area, it is clear that the development of COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines is absolutely necessary," and added, "We will continue to strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation and work closely as one team with industry, academia, research institutes, and hospitals to ensure excellent preclinical results translate smoothly into clinical outcomes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.