'Half Cut' August Moderna Supply... Authorities "mRNA Vaccination Interval 4 Weeks → 6 Weeks" (Update)

On June 1st, the first shipment of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines arrived at the cargo terminal of Incheon International Airport.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The supply volume of Moderna vaccines, which was scheduled to be introduced this month, has been "halved," leading to a temporary adjustment of the mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine dosing interval, including Pfizer, from 4 weeks to 6 weeks.

On the 9th, Kwon Deok-cheol, Minister of Health and Welfare, stated at a joint briefing by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on COVID-19 response, "Recently, Moderna informed us that due to laboratory issues related to vaccine production, the supply volume planned for August, which was 8.5 million doses, will be less than half." He added, "The government has immediately lodged a protest with Moderna and is considering various follow-up measures."

"We are continuously consulting through high-level meetings between the head of the government-wide vaccine procurement task force and Moderna, as well as regular working-level meetings. Additionally, an official Korean delegation led by Kang Do-tae, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, will be dispatched to Moderna to express strong regret over the current supply delay and urge prompt vaccine supply," he added.

This is a major setback that has caused growing anxiety as Moderna, unlike global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is a biotech company without a large-scale pharmaceutical production track record, and its vaccine supply has been repeatedly delayed or canceled. Until now, other vaccine suppliers including AstraZeneca (AZ), Pfizer, and Janssen have not caused such large-scale supply delays since the start of vaccine introductions.

On the 9th, citizens who completed their vaccinations are waiting to monitor for any adverse reactions at the vaccination center set up at Bukahyeon Culture and Sports Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

There will also be significant disruptions to the scheduled vaccinations for those aged 18 to 59. Due to increased uncertainty in vaccine supply, many vaccination schedules will be changed to stabilize supply.

Jung Eun-kyung, Commissioner of the KDCA and head of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, stated, "Due to the reduction in Moderna's planned vaccine supply volume for August, the dosing interval for mRNA vaccines will be temporarily extended to 6 weeks until September." Accordingly, those receiving their second dose of mRNA vaccines after the 16th will have their dosing interval changed to 6 weeks.

However, high school seniors, high school faculty and staff, and other university entrance exam candidates will maintain the existing 4-week dosing interval considering the university entrance exam schedule. Education and childcare workers, including daycare centers, kindergartens, and elementary to middle school faculty, will have their dosing interval adjusted to 5 weeks in consideration of the second semester school opening schedule.

Previously, on the 22nd of last month, the Promotion Team received deliberation from the Vaccination Expert Committee to allow the dosing intervals of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are normally 3 weeks and 4 weeks respectively, to be extended up to 6 weeks if necessary, depending on vaccine supply conditions, medical institution vaccination conditions, and individual circumstances of vaccine recipients.

The Promotion Team also announced that first doses for those in their 50s, autonomous third-dose vaccinations by local governments, and pre-booking for those aged 18 to 49 will proceed according to the previously announced schedules. However, Commissioner Jung added, "Vaccination schedules or vaccine types may change depending on the fluid vaccine supply situation," and "We will promptly and thoroughly inform the public of any changes."

Meanwhile, to improve convenience for reserving leftover vaccines, from the 16th onward, even those who have already booked vaccine appointments will be able to use the SNS same-day rapid reservation service for leftover vaccine vaccinations. The inconvenience of having to cancel existing reservations through a separate procedure to receive leftover vaccines will be resolved by automatically canceling the existing reservation when booking a leftover vaccine vaccination.

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