'Korea's First' AZ Vaccine, Arrival on 24th → Delivery on 25th → First Vaccination on 26th

Medical Institutions to Conduct Self-Vaccination, Medical Staff to Visit Care Facilities
KCDC Plans to Finalize Q1 Vaccination Target List by 19th
Pfizer Vaccine Supply Delayed Slightly... Expected Late February or Early March

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held a final inspection committee meeting on the 10th and made the final decision on the approval of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, marking the official start of vaccinations in South Korea this month.

If approval is granted on this day, AstraZeneca will become the first vaccine in the country. Initially, the Pfizer vaccine was expected to be introduced by mid-February and become the first vaccine, but due to some remaining administrative procedures delaying the introduction to the end of February, the AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be the first to be administered to the Korean public.

First, 750,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be delivered to the logistics center between the 24th and 28th of this month. These 750,000 doses are part of the 10 million doses individually contracted by the government with AstraZeneca.

This vaccine is produced by SK Bioscience, which is entrusted with the contract manufacturing of AstraZeneca vaccines, at its factory in Andong, Gyeongbuk. The AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored and distributed refrigerated (2 to 8 degrees Celsius), so unlike the Pfizer vaccine, which requires ultra-cold chain logistics, no separate vaccination system is needed.

Once the products manufactured by SK Bioscience receive shipment approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, they will be delivered from the integrated logistics center located in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to vaccination institutions such as public health centers nationwide starting on the 25th. The first vaccinations will take place on the 26th.

According to the 'COVID-19 Vaccination Implementation Plan' announced by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on the 28th of last month, vaccinations will begin in the first quarter for approximately 776,900 people, including residents of nursing hospitals and nursing facilities. Medical institutions such as nursing hospitals will conduct vaccinations themselves, while medical staff will visit nursing facilities with elderly residents who have difficulty moving to administer vaccinations.

If the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approves vaccination for all individuals aged 18 and over at the final inspection committee meeting on this day, the AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered as originally planned to elderly group residential facilities, psychiatric care and rehabilitation facility inpatients and residents, and workers.

Decision on Elderly Vaccination at Final Inspection Committee on the 10th
Discussion on Age Restrictions and Vaccination Priorities

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, there are variables. Since several European countries have recommended not administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to the elderly, the priority order may change depending on the decision of the final inspection committee on this day. It is known that the key discussion point at the final inspection committee was whether to lower the priority for the elderly or to recommend vaccination for the elderly the same as those aged 18 and over.

If recommendations similar to Germany and France are made to vaccinate only those under 65, the plan to vaccinate elderly residents of nursing hospitals starting in February will be disrupted. The existing vaccination plan, which stated "Pfizer for COVID-19 medical staff and AstraZeneca for the elderly," could be broken, potentially requiring a complete revision of the vaccination plan.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the KDCA, said, "Although there are criticisms that the number of clinical studies on those aged 65 and over is insufficient to obtain statistically significant results, there are no safety issues," and added, "The vaccination schedule for elderly residents of nursing facilities will be decided after review by the COVID-19 expert advisory group and the Vaccination Expert Committee." The KDCA plans to finalize the list of first-quarter vaccination recipients by the 19th.

Meanwhile, the supply of Pfizer vaccines through the COVAX Facility is expected to be somewhat delayed. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated that the domestic introduction of the Pfizer vaccine is expected "at the end of February or early March." Administrative procedures such as contracts and transportation plans with Pfizer remain, causing the introduction to be delayed compared to initial expectations.

The 'COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team,' composed of government ministries including the KDCA, and the National Medical Center conducted a joint simulation training for Pfizer vaccine administration at the central vaccination center within the medical center yesterday afternoon. The Pfizer vaccine will be administered to COVID-19 medical staff as soon as it is introduced domestically. One or two more joint simulation trainings will be held before actual vaccinations begin.

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