Government Expected to Announce Moderna Vaccine Supply Quantity and Timing in Afternoon Briefing

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The future supply plan for the Moderna vaccine will be announced on the 22nd.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), the government will explain the domestic supply plan for the Moderna vaccine during a regular briefing held at 4:40 PM at the Government Seoul Office.

The briefing will be conducted directly by Kang Do-tae, the CDSCH 1st General Coordinator and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, who recently visited Moderna headquarters in the United States as part of the government delegation. The briefing is expected to reveal the specific schedule and quantity of vaccine supplies discussed with Moderna so far.

The total amount of COVID-19 vaccines contracted by our government with Moderna is 40 million doses. However, Moderna notified that the supply volume to Korea this month would be reduced to less than half due to laboratory issues at its partner manufacturing sites. In response, the government formed a delegation and visited Moderna headquarters in Massachusetts, USA, on the 13th (local time).

At that time, the delegation expressed strong regret to Moderna and demanded prompt vaccine supply and measures to prevent recurrence.

In response, Moderna promised to supply a larger quantity than previously notified to restore mutual trust and also to promote early supply in September.

The government stated that once it receives specific quantities and supply schedules from Moderna, it will organize the status and officially announce it as early as the 22nd or 23rd.

The CDSCH apologized for the urgent announcement of the briefing schedule on the day, saying, "We could not notify in advance due to consultations with Moderna." The briefing is also expected to mention Romania's donation of Moderna vaccines.

Earlier, Romania's state news agency Agerpres reported that the Romanian government decided to donate 450,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine to Korea and approved this support on a humanitarian basis.

Regarding this, the government stated yesterday, "The reported free donation of vaccines by the Romanian government is not true, and consultations are underway between Korea and Romania regarding a vaccine swap."

It added, "The government has built trust between the two countries by supporting Romania with diagnostic kits and other quarantine equipment in March last year, at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak."

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