Introduction of Moderna BA.4/5 Variant-Updated Vaccine... Pre-Booking on 19th, Same-Day Vaccination on 26th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byun Seon-jin] Moderna in the United States will begin administering the updated vaccine developed to respond to the COVID-19 Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 starting from the 26th.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team announced on the 14th that approximately 640,000 doses of Moderna's BA.4/5-based bivalent vaccine, manufactured under contract by Samsung Biologics, will be introduced into the country. This vaccine received emergency use authorization from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 2nd. It was granted emergency use authorization in the U.S. on August 31 and received a conditional approval recommendation in Europe on October 20.

Pre-booking for the Moderna BA.4/5 vaccine introduced this time will begin on the 19th, and same-day vaccinations will be available starting from the 26th. Vaccinations for reserved doses will be possible from January 2 of next year. Thus, in addition to the Pfizer BA.1-based and BA.4/5-based updated vaccines and the Moderna BA.1 updated vaccine, the Moderna BA.4/5 updated vaccine has been added. Adults aged 18 and over who have completed their primary vaccination series can receive any of the four updated vaccines they prefer.

As of today, a total of 37.13 million doses of Omicron-targeted bivalent vaccines have been introduced domestically, and the remaining supplies will be introduced sequentially. Director Baek Kyung-ran of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency stated, “Additional booster shots with bivalent vaccines are the most effective way to protect yourself, your family, and your community from COVID-19,” and urged, “We ask the public who have been waiting for the new vaccine introduction to actively participate in pre-booking and vaccination.”

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