Hong Nam-ki Acting Prime Minister "Two Domestic Vaccines Expected to Enter Phase 3 in Second Half... Development by Early Next Year at Latest"

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister, is speaking while presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 28th. April 28, 2021.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister, stated on the 28th, "Currently, five domestic companies are conducting clinical trials for vaccines, among which two vaccines have started Phase 2 trials and are expected to enter Phase 3 in the second half of the year," adding, "The government is fully supporting the entire process from preclinical, clinical, to production to ensure that a domestically developed vaccine can be available by the end of this year or at the latest early next year."

Acting Prime Minister Hong presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at the Government Complex Seoul that morning and said, "One of the fundamental solutions to the vaccine supply issue is securing vaccine sovereignty, that is, the development of domestic vaccines," and added, "We are concentrating 68.7 billion won in this year's budget to support this."

He also said, "Yesterday, President Moon Jae-in met with the CEO of Novavax and agreed to extend the contract for technology transfer and production methods until after next year, along with discussions on vaccine import," expressing expectations that "this will greatly contribute to securing and advancing our vaccine development core technologies in the future."

As the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases is expected to rise again to the mid-700s, Acting Prime Minister Hong said, "The infection reproduction number has exceeded 1, and the proportion of cases with unknown infection routes has surpassed 30%, so we cannot afford to let our guard down," urging, "Please once again strengthen your adherence to basic quarantine rules."

Meanwhile, amid the serious situation with daily new confirmed cases in India exceeding 300,000 recently, there are concerns about the safety of Korean residents living there. Regarding reports that irregular flights between Korea and India have been temporarily suspended, blocking the return of residents to Korea, Acting Prime Minister Hong emphasized, "This is not true," and stated, "Flights for the purpose of transporting Korean nationals are permitted, and additional irregular flight applications will be promptly approved." He added, "The government will do its best to protect our residents, including humanitarian aid to India and support for their return."

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