Authorities "18 Million Vaccine Doses to Be Imported in First Half... 12 Million People to Be Vaccinated"

"Plan to Secure and Manage Supply to Ensure No Disruptions in Second Dose Vaccinations"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team announced on the 6th that the introduction of 18,088,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the first half of the year has been confirmed.

The Promotion Team plans to vaccinate 12 million people by the first half of the year using these vaccines.

Among the 18,088,000 doses, a total of 3,373,000 doses have been introduced into the country, including 432,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the international vaccine supply organization 'COVAX Facility' and 250,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine that arrived last weekend.

The Promotion Team stated, "The quantity confirmed for introduction within the second quarter is 14,715,000 doses, and continuous negotiations are underway for early introduction."

The quantities confirmed for introduction in the second quarter are 7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine under individual contracts, 5.75 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, 1.668 million doses of COVAX AstraZeneca vaccine, and 297,000 doses of COVAX Pfizer vaccine.

The government plans to flexibly operate the dosing interval of the AstraZeneca vaccine between 8 to 12 weeks to expand first-dose recipients and use the second-dose supply for first-dose vaccinations.

The Promotion Team emphasized, "The 18,088,000 doses of vaccines confirmed for introduction in the first half are sufficient to vaccinate 12 million people in the first half." They added, "We also plan to secure and manage supplies to ensure no disruption in second-dose vaccinations."

To ensure a comprehensive government-wide response to vaccine supply, the government has been operating an inter-ministerial vaccine procurement task force led by the Minister of Health and Welfare since the 1st.

Meanwhile, the Promotion Team will make every effort to ensure the early introduction of vaccines so that nationwide herd immunity can be achieved by November without any setbacks.

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