"To Receive Pfizer Vaccine in Korea, It Will Have to Be the Second Half of Next Year"

US and Germany Prioritize Vaccination for Their Own Citizens

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Interest is growing in the timing of the commercialization of the vaccine as interim results from the Phase 3 clinical trial of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine jointly developed by the U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German biotech company BioNTech showed over 90% effectiveness.

The commercialization of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is expected to take place in the first half of next year. Pfizer plans to apply for emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) next week, and if the approval process proceeds smoothly, it can manufacture up to 20 million doses (based on two doses per person) by the end of this year. At this pace, 1.3 billion doses could be produced next year.

The COVID-19 vaccine requires two doses to develop immunity. Pfizer explained that the point at which the vaccine's preventive effect appeared was seven days after the second dose, which is 28 days from the first dose. Once the FDA grants the initial approval, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will conduct a review around the same time, and vaccination is expected to begin in the U.S., Germany, and other countries as early as the first quarter.

U.S. Vaccine Commercialization 'Quick Steps'
Germany Prepares Recommendations for Priority Vaccination Groups

The German government has taken swift steps to prepare recommendations for selecting priority vaccination groups in anticipation of vaccine commercialization next year. According to the dpa news agency on the 9th (local time), the German Ethics Council selected high-risk groups such as the elderly and healthcare workers as priority vaccination recipients, and recommended that police officers, firefighters, and teachers be the next groups to receive the vaccine. Subsequently, homeless people, refugees, and those in collective accommodation facilities were identified as vaccination targets.

The time when Korean citizens can receive Pfizer's vaccine is likely to be in the second half of next year. This is because countries like the U.S., which has surpassed 10 million cumulative COVID-19 cases and continues to set new records for the highest number of confirmed cases, and Germany, which has exceeded 20,000 new cases, are likely to prioritize vaccinating their own citizens first. Currently, the total population of the U.S. is 328.2 million (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), and the number of vaccine doses Pfizer can produce by the end of the year is 20 million, which is about 6% of the population.

Germany, where confirmed cases are increasing daily, is also likely to address its urgent domestic needs first. On the 9th (local time), Health Minister Jens Spahn said, "Vaccines developed by German companies will not be used in other countries before being available domestically." At the end of last month, Minister Spahn mentioned, "Once the COVID-19 vaccine is released, it will be supplied to most German citizens who want vaccination within 6 to 7 months."

Government "Negotiating with Global Companies Including Pfizer"
Safety and Efficacy Must Be Fully Proven

South Korea is also preparing for the possibility of Pfizer's vaccine commercialization. The government announced in September that it would secure COVID-19 vaccines for 30 million Korean citizens. The plan is to first secure 10 million doses through the multinational coalition COVAX Facility and then secure an additional 20 million doses through negotiations with global companies. COVAX is a multinational alliance led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), aiming to equitably supply vaccines to 20% of the global population by the end of 2021.

Im In-taek, Director of the Health Industry Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "We have secured domestic vaccine supply volumes through AstraZeneca and Novavax, and are also negotiating individually with companies such as Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson." However, the government maintains a cautious stance to ensure vaccine safety. Son Young-rae, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "In Pfizer's case, no serious safety concerns have been observed so far, but since Phase 3 clinical trials are ongoing, we need to wait for the results. COVID-19 vaccines have been developed in the shortest time worldwide, only 12 to 18 months since the virus first emerged in China, and safety and efficacy have not yet been fully proven. Therefore, the government plans to monitor the situation in the U.S. and other countries and respond accordingly."

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