Moon Jae-in 'Smiling Brightly' vs Biden 'Solemn'... Two Presidents Watching COVID-19 Vaccine Inoculation

President Moon Observes Korea's First Vaccine Inoculation
Biden Administers 50 Million Vaccine Doses in 37 Days Since Inauguration

President Moon Jae-in (left) and U.S. President Joe Biden (right) observing the COVID-19 vaccination process. Photo by Yonhap News Agency and AP Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] The contrasting expressions of President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden regarding COVID-19 vaccinations have drawn attention.

On the 26th, when COVID-19 vaccinations officially began in South Korea, President Moon visited a vaccination site with a smile, whereas President Biden, who observed a vaccination site the previous day, wore a somewhat solemn expression as he seriously watched the vaccination process. President Biden held the event to commemorate surpassing 50 million vaccine doses administered in the U.S. by the 25th since his inauguration.

On the day South Korea’s first vaccinations began, President Moon visited the COVID-19 vaccination room at the Mapo-gu Public Health Center. Minister of the Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol, and Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Jung Eun-kyeong were also present.

President Moon Jae-in and Jung Eun-kyeong, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, visited the Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul on the 26th, observing Dr. Kim Yoon-tae, a rehabilitation facility worker (Purme Nexus Children's Rehabilitation Hospital), receiving the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Following guidance from Osangcheol, head of the Mapo-gu Public Health Center, President Moon inspected the vaccination preparation process according to the flow of vaccine recipients. The vaccination process consisted of ▲registration and waiting ▲pre-examination and vaccine preparation ▲vaccination ▲entry into the adverse reaction observation room ▲entry into the intensive observation room in sequence.

At the site, 10 medical staff including doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and care workers working at nursing hospitals (Purme Foundation Nexu Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital) and nursing facilities (Seoul Western Senior Specialized Nursing Center) located in Mapo-gu were waiting for vaccination.

President Moon observed Dr. Kim Yuntae (60), director of Nexu Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital, receiving the vaccine. When Dr. Kim said, "Please make it painless," the Mapo-gu Public Health Center doctor administering the vaccine replied, "I will do my best."

Watching this scene, President Moon expressed curiosity saying, "But you are a doctor," to which Director Jung, standing nearby, responded, "Everyone feels pain," creating a warm and friendly atmosphere.

U.S. President Joe Biden attended an event commemorating 50 million COVID-19 vaccinations on the 25th (local time) at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House, watching a Washington DC firefighter paramedic administer a vaccine.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

President Biden also attended the '50 Million Vaccine Doses Administered Commemoration Event' held at the White House on the 25th (local time) and observed the vaccination process. Four essential workers, including emergency medical technicians, school counselors, and grocery store employees, were selected as the recipients of the 50 millionth vaccine dose. Unlike President Moon’s smile, President Biden watched the vaccination seriously with his arms crossed.

According to foreign media, President Biden held the event at the White House to celebrate reaching 50 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered since his inauguration. President Biden stated, "We have successfully vaccinated 50 million people in 37 days since taking office. We have now reached the halfway point, which is several weeks ahead of the original schedule."

Meanwhile, the South Korean government has secured a total of 79 million doses of vaccines so far. Through contracts with pharmaceutical companies, it has secured 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, 6 million doses of Janssen vaccine, 13 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, 20 million doses of Moderna vaccine, and 20 million doses of Novavax vaccine, and plans to receive 10 million doses through COVAX.

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