Government: "Exhaustive debates on vaccine supply must stop... No vaccine choice will be given"

Government Signs Contract with Pfizer to Procure Additional 20 Million Vaccine Doses... Secures Total of 99 Million Vaccine Doses

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The government pointed out that since enough COVID-19 vaccines have been secured to achieve herd immunity, the exhausting debates related to vaccine supply should stop.

On the 25th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), said at a regular briefing, “We have signed an additional contract with the U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer for 20 million doses (40 million shots) of vaccines,” adding, “Concerns about vaccine supply have now been sufficiently resolved.”

He emphasized, “Let’s stop the exhausting debates about whether vaccine supply will face disruptions in the future and focus on the present,” and added, “The previous debates were confusing and did not help with quarantine and vaccination efforts.” He continued, “There have been criticisms comparing our country with Southeast Asia or Africa, which have introduced Chinese and Russian vaccines, claiming that our supply is insufficient. This can be interpreted as prioritizing vaccine supply over safety and efficacy verification, which is inappropriate criticism.”

Furthermore, he explained, “In the media, the UK is referred to as an advanced vaccine country and introduced as having restored daily life. However, while pubs and sports facilities have reopened, theaters and concert halls remain closed,” adding, “They are only now beginning to lift extreme closures, whereas these facilities have been available year-round domestically.”

He went on to say, “More than half of the vaccinated population in the UK received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and experts and the European Medicines Agency have stated that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks. However, in our country, rare side effects have been highlighted, leading to criticism that the amount of vaccines procured is excessive,” and added, “The daily life we desire is freer and safer from COVID-19 than the UK’s, and we should learn from overseas cases how much safer vaccination makes us.”

Additionally, Son said, “The government aims to control the COVID-19 outbreak through appropriate social management while avoiding large-scale lockdowns that cause extreme damage to low-income and middle-class groups.”

Through the contract with Pfizer signed the day before, the government secured a total of 99 million vaccine doses, including the previously secured 79 million doses. The 99 million doses correspond to 1.9 vaccinations per person for the entire population of 52 million in Korea. This is 2.75 times the vaccination target of 36 million people for herd immunity formation.

Although additional doses have been secured, individuals are not expected to be given the choice of vaccine. Son explained, “On January 28, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced the vaccination plan and decided not to give individuals the choice of vaccine,” adding, “There has been no consideration of giving choice in the second half of the year.”

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