People in Their 40s and Younger After 50s and 60s? ... Increasing Confusion Over Vaccine Appointment Schedules

Confusion in Vaccination for 50s... Pfizer Becomes De Facto Main Vaccine
August Plan to Be Announced on 30th Amid Moderna Supply Uncertainty
September Goal of 70% First Dose Nationwide at Risk

On the 26th, when COVID-19 vaccinations began for those aged 55 to 59, citizens visiting the vaccination center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, received their vaccines. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The domestic COVID-19 vaccination plan has been repeatedly disrupted due to supply issues with vaccines. This time, the Moderna vaccine is causing trouble. Amid ongoing confusion over vaccinations for people in their 50s, which began on the 26th, supply uncertainties have increased again, leading to changes in the August vaccination plan to be announced on the 30th.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held at the Government Seoul Office on the 27th, "Recently, Moderna notified us that adjustments to the supply schedule are inevitable due to production issues," adding, "We are currently negotiating the specific quantities and delivery dates." Moderna informed the Korean government of "issues related to COVID-19 vaccine production" on the 23rd. However, even four days after the notification, the government has yet to determine what problems have occurred in production or whether the issue is limited to Korea.

The instability in Moderna vaccine supply was detected from early last week. On the 19th, Jeong Eun-kyeong, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, announced that the delivery of Moderna vaccine doses scheduled for the third week of this month was delayed by one week, and said, "We plan to use Pfizer vaccines together for vaccinations of people in their 50s." Accordingly, the vaccination for those aged 55-59, originally planned to be completed by the 7th of next month, was postponed to the 14th. Vaccinations for those aged 50-54 were also delayed by one week. The vaccines for large workplaces' self-administered vaccinations starting that day were switched to Pfizer.

Since then, the vaccination plan for people in their 50s has undergone repeated revisions. The government decided that for those aged 55-59 vaccinated by the 30th of this month, Pfizer vaccines would be used in the metropolitan area, and Moderna vaccines in non-metropolitan areas. However, for the following week (August 2-8), the plan was hastily changed so that everyone would receive Pfizer vaccines regardless of region. Only the 657 designated medical institutions that were to administer only Moderna vaccines will continue to use Moderna. If this continues, Pfizer is likely to become the main vaccine for the 50-54 age group vaccinations starting on the 16th of next month instead of Moderna.

Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Infectious Diseases Department at Korea University Guro Hospital said, "Moderna is a bio-venture company that has not established a mass production system, and Korea entered the purchase late after many countries had already pre-purchased vaccines," adding, "Even after the contract, Moderna never clearly stated when and how much vaccine they would provide, and the government did not announce the delivery schedule citing confidentiality agreements, which led to the current problems."

This is not the first time the government has revised vaccination plans based solely on pharmaceutical companies' statements. When the delivery of 835,000 doses of AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, scheduled for late June, was postponed to July, the government abruptly reversed its previous stance of "not considering cross-vaccination." As a result, 760,000 people, including home care workers and medical staff at clinics and pharmacies who received their first AZ dose from mid-April to early May, were added to the list for the second Pfizer dose in July.

The authorities will announce the August vaccination plan on the 30th. However, depending on Moderna's supply schedule, it is possible that vaccinations for those under 40 may be delayed. Since Pfizer vaccines are being used for people in their 50s, and AZ vaccines are not available for these age groups, they will effectively have to rely solely on Pfizer vaccines.

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