In June, Four Types of Vaccines... 'Counterattack Against COVID-19' Begins in Earnest

Following AZ and Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen Vaccines to Be Introduced Early Next Month

On the 28th, elderly individuals who completed their COVID-19 vaccinations at the vaccination center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, were waiting in the observation area. According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team on the same day, the number of new first-dose vaccinations the previous day reached 640,000, combining 560,000 recipients of the AZ vaccine and 80,000 recipients of the Pfizer vaccine. This is the largest daily vaccination scale ever recorded. The nationwide first-dose vaccination rate, which had maintained the 7% range since the 7th, is expected to exceed 8% and enter the 9% range within 21 days. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Following the AstraZeneca (AZ) and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, Moderna and Janssen vaccines will arrive in South Korea next month. This means that out of the five types of vaccines secured by our government, four?excluding Novavax?will have been introduced. With the arrival of various types of vaccines one after another, a green light has been turned on for achieving the first-dose vaccination target of 13 million people in the first half of the year.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team on the 31st, 55,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine will arrive at Incheon Airport around 12:45 PM on the 1st of next month. This shipment is the first batch of Moderna vaccines to be introduced domestically; although it was originally scheduled to arrive on that day, the schedule was delayed by one day due to local circumstances.

The 1,012,800 doses of Janssen vaccine, which the U.S. government agreed to support during the Korea-U.S. summit on the 22nd, will also be introduced this week, with vaccinations starting from the 10th of next month. Initially, the U.S. planned to supply vaccines for 550,000 people to South Korea, but in reality, twice that amount is being supplied. With the addition of Moderna and Janssen vaccines, South Korea will have a lineup of four types of vaccines starting mid-next month.

Accordingly, June is expected to be a turning point for South Korea’s counterattack against COVID-19. So far, the vaccines secured by South Korea include 10 million doses (20 million shots) obtained through the COVAX Facility, and individually contracted doses: Pfizer for 33 million people (66 million shots), Moderna for 20 million people (40 million shots), Novavax for 20 million people (40 million shots), AZ for 10 million people (20 million shots), Janssen for 6 million people (6 million shots), and an additional 1 million doses of Janssen vaccine provided separately, totaling 101.3 million doses.

When adding the Janssen supply to the initially planned 18.32 million doses for the first half of the year, the total secured doses approach 20 million. This is sufficient to achieve the target of 13 million first-dose vaccinations by the end of June. As of midnight on that day, 5,403,854 people had completed their first dose. Approximately 7.6 million people need to be vaccinated in the remaining month, which is considered feasible given the vaccine supply situation and vaccination infrastructure.

With the diversification of vaccine types, vaccination for some priority groups such as essential workers and healthcare workers, who were previously unable to receive certain vaccines due to age restrictions, is expected to accelerate. Starting next month, the Moderna vaccine introduced at vaccination sites will be used for workers under 30 years old at hospital-level or higher medical institutions. These individuals were originally scheduled to receive the AZ vaccine, which began in March, but those under 30 were excluded from receiving it due to the “blood clot controversy.”

For the Janssen vaccine, which has similar concerns about blood clot risks as the AZ vaccine, it will be used from next month for reservists aged 30 and above, civil defense personnel, and military-related workers. However, unlike other vaccines, Janssen requires only a single dose for completion, allowing recipients to benefit from the government’s vaccine incentives that will be fully implemented starting June.

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