Acting PM Hong: "Not 'Vaccine Shortage'... Some Adjustments During Overlapping Period of 1st and 2nd Doses"

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister, is speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office on May 2, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, said on the 2nd, "There is excessive anxiety caused by expressions such as 'Pfizer vaccine is running out' circulating in some quarters, but this is not true," adding, "Vaccinations are being carried out according to the scope and schedule originally planned and designed by the quarantine authorities."

Acting Prime Minister Hong chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 at the Government Seoul Office in the afternoon and said, "There are no changes to the (vaccine introduction and vaccination) information announced to the public, and everything is proceeding smoothly."

The Pfizer vaccine, which is being administered to the elderly aged 75 and over, has faced a shortage of supply since the second dose began for those who completed the first dose, making it difficult to start new first-dose vaccinations from this month. In response, the government has requested frontline vaccination institutions to refrain from making new first-dose Pfizer vaccine reservations to avoid supply-demand imbalance.

Regarding this, Acting Prime Minister Hong said, "There is inevitably a circulation period where those who received the first dose and those who completed the first dose a few weeks ago and are scheduled for the second dose overlap," adding, "In such cases, some adjustment in the number of first-dose recipients is sometimes necessary." He continued, "Considering the Pfizer vaccine supply in this flow, we have been calmly proceeding with vaccinations while taking into account the administration of the first dose and the second dose for those whose turn has come."

Furthermore, he said, "Among the 18.09 million doses to be introduced in the first half of the year, about 40%, or approximately 7 million doses, are Pfizer vaccines, which are being introduced sequentially on regular days every week without any delay," adding, "In the coming months of May and June, 5 million doses are also scheduled to be introduced sequentially every week."

Acting Prime Minister Hong also stated, "We have been promptly adjusting schedules as necessary depending on the vaccination situation," and added, "According to domestic and international research results, the Pfizer vaccine is reported to have a preventive effect of around 90% with just the first dose. Accordingly, the quarantine authorities planned the schedule to administer the first dose to as many elderly people as possible as quickly as possible and to follow up with the second dose with subsequent supplies." This means that the vaccination pace is being 'regulated' considering the vaccine supply situation.

Acting Prime Minister Hong said, "The goal of vaccinating 12 million people by the end of June will also be achieved without any setbacks," and pointed out, "The spread of inaccurate information causing excessive anxiety among the public does not help the intense fight against the pandemic or public safety." He added, "In the next two months, those who were originally planned to be vaccinated by the end of June will definitely receive vaccination guidance calls, and those who receive such calls will be vaccinated."

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