Prime Minister Kim: "Pfizer Oral Treatment Contract for '300,000 Doses' Finalized... Announcement Soon" (Update)

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 24th. 2021.12.24 [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on the 24th, "The government has been negotiating with Pfizer to purchase more than 300,000 doses of treatment, far exceeding the previously announced 70,000 doses," adding, "The contract is in its final stages and will be announced soon by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency."

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Kim presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office and stated, "Pfizer's oral treatment has received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," and added, "Once the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety grants emergency use approval and the contract is finalized, we will inform the public in detail immediately."

Regarding the trend of COVID-19 spread following the strong social distancing measures resumed since last weekend, Prime Minister Kim said, "The daily number of confirmed cases is hovering around 7,000," but judged that "it is still too early to conclude that the decline phase has begun." However, he emphasized, "Despite the year-end approaching Christmas, citizens are returning home much earlier, and overall mobility has decreased," adding, "From this weekend, we must tighten quarantine measures even more and achieve a definite turnaround during the remaining week." He also expressed gratitude, saying, "I thank the public for actively cooperating with quarantine efforts despite the inconveniences and difficulties caused by social distancing," and apologized, "I am once again sorry to the small business owners who are enduring various hardships."

Regarding the securing of COVID-19 hospital beds, Prime Minister Kim reported, "We have secured nearly 1,000 more beds than the target set by administrative orders," and added, "The number of patients waiting for beds for more than one day, which once exceeded 1,000, has decreased to the 300s, indicating that the bed bottleneck is gradually improving." He continued, "We will do our utmost to continue securing beds to handle 10,000 confirmed cases per day and to increase turnover rates."

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