Prime Minister Jeong: "430,000 doses of AZ vaccine to arrive as scheduled on the 3rd... Full effort on vaccine supply"

Prime Minister's Regular Briefing

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is holding a regular briefing at the Government Seoul Office on the afternoon of the 1st. April 1, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced on the 1st, "The 430,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX Facility, which were initially expected to be delayed by a few weeks, are scheduled to arrive at Incheon Airport on the 3rd of April." Amid growing global concerns over COVID-19 vaccine supply, he emphasized, "A total of 14.4 million doses for the second quarter have already been confirmed, and they will be supplied as scheduled."

At a briefing on current issues held at the Government Complex Seoul in the afternoon, Prime Minister Chung said, "We will review the vaccine supply situation and make every effort at the whole-of-government level to secure doses quickly." He added, "We will also promptly finalize and report to the public the details regarding Novavax, Janssen, and Moderna vaccines, whose second-quarter supply volumes and specific schedules have not yet been confirmed."

In this regard, as concerns about vaccine supply have recently increased, the government will operate a whole-of-government vaccine procurement management task force (TF) team starting today, led by Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol, with participation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Prime Minister Chung acknowledged that "there are concerns based on the vaccine supply situation and vaccination rates that achieving the goal of vaccinating 12 million people by the end of June might be difficult," but emphasized, "What I can say clearly is that the government's current plan is based on the volume of doses to be procured and vaccination capacity, making the goal achievable."

He stated, "Starting today with vaccinations for seniors aged 75 and older, vaccinations for the entire population will effectively begin," and added, "Vaccination centers will be established in all local governments nationwide within this month, and vaccinations will also start in some of the 14,000 private medical institutions during April." He further noted, "The vaccination pace will accelerate significantly compared to last month," and concluded, "We will mobilize all capabilities in vaccine procurement and vaccination to meet the public's expectations and participation."

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