President Moon Talks with Moderna CEO... "Additional Supply of COVID-19 Vaccines for 20 Million People"

Cheong Wa Dae Plans to Increase Moderna Vaccine Supply and Advance Delivery Schedule... Negotiations Underway to Complete Contract Within the Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the afternoon of the 28th, President Moon Jae-in agreed to receive an additional supply of 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine through a video call with Moderna CEO St?phane Bancel.

Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, stated during a briefing at the Chuncheon Press Center on the morning of the 29th, "President Moon agreed to supply 20 million doses of the vaccine to our country through a 27-minute video call with Moderna CEO Bancel last night." This amount is twice the scale of the existing contract negotiations with Moderna.

Spokesperson Kang added that they plan to reduce the purchase price through negotiations with Moderna and are working to ensure vaccine supply occurs in the second quarter of next year. In particular, based on the agreement between President Moon and the Moderna CEO, efforts will be made to finalize the contract within this year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Spokesperson Kang explained, "The Moderna CEO said that if the Korean government wants a quick contract, it is possible to finalize it within this year," and added, "We expressed our hope that the contract would be completed within this year if possible."

During the call with the Moderna CEO, President Moon congratulated him on the success of the COVID-19 vaccine and its emergency use authorization. The Moderna CEO expressed gratitude and said he would strive to ensure early vaccine supply.

The Blue House expects that with this agreement, adding 20 million doses to the already completed 36 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, a contract for 56 million doses will be secured within this year. Furthermore, they anticipate that the contract volume will increase once negotiations with Novavax, Pfizer, and others are completed.

A senior Blue House official said, "Although it was initially expected that a contract within this year would be difficult, the timing of the contract has been advanced (due to the call between President Moon and the Moderna CEO)," and added, "We will proceed with negotiations aiming to conclude the contract within a few days."

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