Additional Contract for 23 Million Vaccine Doses Secured... Total of 79 Million Doses Obtained

20 Million Doses of Novavax Vaccine to be Administered in Q2
Pfizer, Initially Scheduled for Q3 Supply, Moves Up to Next Month

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The government has secured an additional 3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer to be introduced in the second quarter. It has also finalized a purchase contract for 20 million doses of the Novavax vaccine. As a result, the total vaccines secured by the government have increased from the existing 56 million doses to 79 million doses.

In particular, 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, originally scheduled for delivery in the third quarter, will be supplied ahead of schedule by the end of March, and the Novavax vaccine is planned to begin administration from the second quarter.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on the 16th that it has signed an additional contract for 23 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. First, on the 15th, the government signed an additional purchase contract for 3 million doses (6 million shots) of the Pfizer vaccine and also advanced the supply start date, originally set for the third quarter, to the end of next month. 500,000 doses will be brought in first by the end of next month, and 3 million doses will be supplied during the second quarter. This quantity is separate from the 60,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine scheduled to be introduced at the end of this month through the global vaccine procurement project 'COVAX Facility.'

The Pfizer vaccine is currently undergoing product approval review by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and once national shipment approval is completed by the end of next month, vaccinations are expected to begin in April.

Jung Eun-kyung, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (left), and Ahn Jae-yong, CEO of SK Bioscience, are posing for a commemorative photo after signing a contract for the supply of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the morning of the 16th. James Young, Chairman of Novavax, participated via video connection from the U.S. headquarters. (Provided by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency)

On the same day, the KDCA also signed a pre-purchase contract for 20 million doses (40 million shots) of the Novavax vaccine with SK Bioscience in the morning. James Young, Chairman of Novavax, participated via video connection from the U.S. headquarters to discuss cooperation plans related to the production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines among KDCA, Novavax, and SK Bioscience. Earlier, on the 12th, SK Bioscience signed a vaccine technology introduction contract (technology license) with Novavax.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun explained at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting that day, "Uncertainty over vaccine supply in the first half of the year is increasing, so we have negotiated to advance the supply of some of the Pfizer vaccine doses originally contracted for 10 million people in the second half and to additionally introduce possible quantities in the first half." He added, "With the Pfizer vaccine, a total of 7 million shots, equivalent to 3.5 million doses, will be available for vaccination in the second quarter alone."

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