Jung Se-kyun: "Additional 23 Million Doses of Pfizer and Novavax Vaccines... Total 79 Million Doses Confirmed" (Update)

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is speaking while presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 response at the Government Sejong Complex in Sejong City on the morning of the 16th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 16th regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, "We have confirmed the introduction of a total of 79 million doses of vaccines by adding 23 million doses to the existing 56 million doses." Following the additional contract for 3 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be introduced in the second quarter, the introduction of 20 million doses of the Novavax vaccine has also been confirmed.

Prime Minister Chung presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 at the Government Complex Sejong that morning and said, "The government has been striving to introduce a sufficient quantity as early as possible with the goal of forming herd immunity by the end of November."

In addition to the 3 million doses of Pfizer vaccine contracted for the second quarter, 500,000 doses out of the 10 million doses originally contracted for supply in the second half of the year will be supplied earlier by the end of March. In other words, 3.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be secured in the second quarter alone, making vaccination possible.

Prime Minister Chung said, "In the case of the Novavax vaccine, it is even more meaningful as our company will receive technology transfer and produce the vaccine directly at a domestic factory," adding, "It will also play a significant role in accelerating the development of a purely domestic vaccine based on the technology transfer." The 20 million doses of Novavax vaccine will soon be purchased through a contract between the government, represented by Director Jeong Eun-kyung of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and SK Bioscience.

Prime Minister Chung emphasized the government's efforts to secure vaccines, saying, "Recently, due to global pharmaceutical companies' production disruptions and increasingly fierce competition among countries to secure vaccines, uncertainty in vaccine supply in the first half of the year is growing." He also ordered, "The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency should promptly establish a detailed vaccination plan for the additionally confirmed quantities and explain it thoroughly to the public."

The first COVID-19 vaccine to be administered domestically is the AstraZeneca vaccine, with vaccinations starting on the 26th. Prime Minister Chung urged, "The government is thoroughly preparing to ensure there are no gaps throughout the entire process," and asked, "Citizens should trust the government and actively participate."

Regarding the eased social distancing measures applied from this week (Level 2 in the metropolitan area and Level 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas), he emphasized "autonomy and responsibility," stating, "We must maximize social compliance over the next two weeks to achieve a definite stabilization, which will allow the new distancing system to be reorganized from March." He continued, "The greatest risk factor is the relaxation of vigilance," and reiterated, "Whether it is stabilization or resurgence ultimately depends on this. It is time to focus not only on autonomy but also on responsibility in our actions."

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