Jeong Eun-kyung "COVID-19 Vaccination Starts from Late February... Completion Before November" (Comprehensive)

Priority Vaccination for High-Risk Healthcare Workers and Nursing Hospital Users
AstraZeneca Vaccine Submitted for Approval to MFDS

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine photographed at a hospital in Haywards Heath, southern England

[Asia Economy reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Kim Heung-soon] The quarantine authorities have unveiled a vaccination blueprint aiming to start COVID-19 vaccinations as early as the end of next month and complete them by November. The vaccine is highly likely to be AstraZeneca's, for which a product approval application was submitted to the Korean government on the 4th.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at a briefing that "vaccinations are scheduled to begin from the end of February with high-risk healthcare workers and elderly residents in group facilities such as nursing hospitals and nursing homes," adding, "We are currently identifying the list and preparing in advance." She further added, "We plan to proceed with vaccinations sequentially and complete them before the influenza season (November)."

The government finalized contracts by the end of last year to procure 106 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, enough for 56 million people. Accordingly, it is drafting detailed plans and announced that it will present a specific vaccination plan after consultations with related ministries within this month. Prior to that, to establish a stable vaccination implementation foundation, the 'COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team' will be launched on the 8th to facilitate inter-ministerial cooperation. The promotion team includes three divisions: Vaccination Management, Situation Coordination, and Resource Management, nine teams, a damage compensation review division, and an expert committee.

On the 4th, at the temporary screening clinic of Eunpyeong-gu Office in Seoul, medical staff are collecting specimens as the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rose back to over 1,000 after three days. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight that day, 1,020 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 64,264. Among the confirmed cases, 985 were domestic transmissions and 35 were imported cases. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

AstraZeneca Vaccine Approved in the UK and Others Expected to Be First Administered Domestically
Simultaneous Product Approval Applications for Domestic Manufacturing and Imported Vaccines... Review Within 40 Days
National Release Approval Also Shortened to Within 20 Days... Vaccinations Likely to Start End of February

The vaccine expected to be administered first is AstraZeneca's vaccine (AZD1222), for which the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety received an approval application on the same day. Preliminary reviews have been underway since October last year, analyzing non-clinical data, and it is a vaccine recently approved in some countries including the UK. Domestic authorization by Korean authorities is required for its use in Korea.

The vaccine applied for this time is a 'viral vector vaccine' manufactured by inserting the gene for the COVID-19 virus surface antigen into a chimpanzee adenovirus vector, targeting individuals aged 18 and older. It is administered twice: once initially and again 4 to 12 weeks later, and can be stored at 2 to 8°C. AstraZeneca Korea simultaneously applied for 'manufacturing and marketing authorization' for the product manufactured under contract by the domestic pharmaceutical company SK Bioscience, and 'import product authorization' for products produced overseas, such as in Italy.

Typically, the approval review process takes more than 180 days, but the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to complete it within 40 days. Kim Sang-bong, director of the Biologics and Pharmaceuticals Bureau at the Ministry, said, "We aim to shorten the existing processing period and complete it within 40 days," adding, "We are supplementing non-clinical data and reviewing quality data."

Jung Eun-kyung, Head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters

Since vaccines are administered to healthy individuals, they must also undergo national release approval procedures. For vaccines produced domestically, the authorities plan to expedite this process and complete it within 20 days.

Director Kim stated, "We obtained detailed test methods from the manufacturer of the AstraZeneca vaccine in August last year, and after receiving reagents such as standards in November, we established the testing methods by the end of December," adding, "We plan to prioritize this over other national release approvals, which usually take more than 2 to 3 months, and complete it swiftly within 20 days."

Simply adding the timelines, approval review takes 40 days and national release approval 20 days, totaling nearly two months. However, since these two processes can partially overlap and may finish earlier than the maximum period, Director Kim expects vaccinations could start as early as the end of next month.

On the 4th, citizens are waiting for testing at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Gangnam-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Authorities "Negotiating Domestic Production for Initial Vaccine Supply"
"Even with Vaccine Introduction, Short-Term Eradication Difficult"
Emphasizing Basic Rules Such as Masks, Social Distancing, and Personal Hygiene

Head Jung said, "The supply schedule is set to receive initial quantities of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the first quarter, and we are negotiating to receive the initial supply from SK Bioscience, which produces it domestically," adding, "Since production is already underway, we do not anticipate difficulties in receiving the initial supply, but detailed schedules are being discussed with the headquarters." She further added, "Regarding the 20 million doses contracted by our government, we are requesting to receive products produced domestically as much as possible."

Although vaccinations will start next month, Head Jung predicted that eradication will not be achieved in a short period due to the prolonged vaccination period. She said, "After more than a year of COVID-19 response, pandemic fatigue across society is the biggest concern for this year's COVID-19 response," emphasizing, "Even with vaccine introduction, COVID-19 will not be resolved quickly, and efforts to protect each other through basic preventive measures such as wearing masks, social distancing, and getting tested are necessary."

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