Moderna Without Promise... Janssen Without Conviction

Janssen Thrombosis Controversy Spurs Moderna Competition
"Efficient AZ Dose Administration Needed
Additional mRNA Vaccine Procurement Required"

[Asia Economy Reporters Seo So-jeong, Kim Ji-hee, Lee Chun-hee] As the global competition to secure vaccines intensifies, South Korea's already fragile vaccination plan faces another critical challenge. First, the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine has been excluded from administration to those under 30 in South Korea due to rare blood clot cases, raising issues of trust enhancement.

Experts have voiced that the government must roll up its sleeves to ensure the timely introduction of the five vaccines scheduled for domestic use, while actively pursuing additional procurement of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines tailored to antibody maintenance duration and variant virus response.

◆Global mRNA Vaccine Procurement Emergency= According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Promotion Team on the 15th, the vaccines confirmed for domestic introduction in the first half of this year amount to 18,088,000 doses. AZ vaccines account for 5,337,000 people’s doses (10,674,000 shots), making up 59% of the total, with the remainder being Pfizer. Amid ongoing controversy over AZ-related blood clots, the Janssen vaccine also faced a suspension recommendation in the U.S. due to rare thrombosis concerns, increasing the likelihood of disruptions in vaccination plans. The government, however, has stated so far that "there is no change yet in the plan to introduce 6 million doses of the Janssen vaccine."

The quantity of Janssen vaccines scheduled for the second quarter is 100,000 doses, which is not a large proportion. However, the bigger issue is that the blood clot controversy surrounding Janssen has spread the global vaccine procurement competition, including the U.S., to Moderna and others. Since Moderna announced it will pre-supply 200 million doses to the U.S. by July and exports to countries outside the U.S. may be delayed by a quarter, South Korea is currently expected to face delays in procurement as well.

Especially, South Korea’s contract was signed later than those of the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom, Japan, and Switzerland, increasing anxiety. At present, there is a shortage of about 2 million doses compared to the original goal of vaccinating over 12 million people in the first half of the year. Even if the first half passes without issue, there is no certainty that the plan for the second half, which involves receiving over 80% of the total contracted doses, will proceed smoothly.

◆Enhancing AZ Trust and Preparing for Next Year’s Supply= Experts unanimously agreed that, given the insufficient vaccines available for immediate use, efficient vaccination methods must be found. Professor Ki Mo-ran of the National Cancer Center, chair of the Korean Society of Preventive Medicine’s COVID-19 Task Force, said, "The currently secured AZ doses should be administered as efficiently as possible to high-risk groups and the elderly to reduce COVID-19 mortality," adding, "Among domestic blood clot cases, the ‘thrombocytopenia-associated thrombosis’ recognized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as an AZ vaccine side effect has not yet occurred, so vaccination should be accelerated."

She also emphasized the need to actively consider additional alternatives as Europe and the U.S. recently began competing for mRNA vaccines. Professor Ki stated, "Global pharmaceutical companies have started developing vaccines capable of responding to variant viruses, so preparations for next year’s vaccine supply must also be made," warning, "If additional contracts are not reviewed, there is a risk of further delays in procurement."

Professor Jung Jae-hoon of Gachon University Gil Medical Center’s Department of Preventive Medicine said, "While additional procurement of the Russian vaccine ‘Sputnik V’ can be considered, since it is a vector-based vaccine like AZ and Janssen, it is premature to be reassured despite the Russian government’s claims of ‘no problems’," and added, "Practically, the vaccine we can additionally secure is Novavax, which will be produced domestically under contract, so the introduction schedule must be expedited as much as possible."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Domestic vaccine development must also be accelerated. Currently, five companies including SK Bioscience, UbioLogics, Cellid, Genexine, and GeneOne Life Science have entered clinical trials domestically, aiming to start phase 3 trials from the second half of this year. Professor Jung said, "Due to the blood clot controversy, there is a strong tendency to focus on mRNA vaccines, and updates will proceed mainly with mRNA vaccines in the future," adding, "For the prevention of future infectious diseases, development of both domestic vaccines and mRNA vaccines must be expedited."

Won Hee-mok, chairman of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association, also said, "In the global vaccine supply crisis, localization of raw materials and vaccines is urgently needed," and added, "Support must be strengthened and investment should not be spared to enable domestic pharmaceutical companies to conduct global clinical trials as soon as possible."

◆Experts Call for Strengthening Social Distancing= According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on this day, there were 698 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, approaching the 700 mark. The government plans to review raising the level of ‘social distancing’ and shortening operating hours of multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes in the metropolitan area from 10 p.m. to 9 p.m., based on this week’s patient occurrence trends.

Professor Kim Woo-joo of Korea University Guro Hospital’s Department of Infectious Diseases expressed concern, saying, "The delay in reviewing social distancing upgrades by the quarantine authorities has made it impossible to curb the spread," and added, "The reproduction number in the first week of April (April 4?10) has already risen to 1.12, and various indicators are worsening."

Despite the growing spread, the pace of vaccination remains slow. As of midnight on this day, 45,520 people received new vaccinations, bringing the total number of first-dose recipients to 1,285,909. Among them, 951,712 received the AZ vaccine, and 334,197 received the Pfizer vaccine. The number of people who completed the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine increased by 2 from the previous day to 60,569.

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