Jeong Eun-kyung "Continuing Final Contract Negotiations with Moderna... Announcement Once Completed" (Comprehensive)

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government is continuing negotiations ahead of the final contract with the U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna to secure 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The government plans to promptly announce the contract details once the negotiations are finalized.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at the regular briefing on the 31st, "We are continuing to review and negotiate the contract with Moderna," adding, "There has been progress on most of the negotiation points, and once the negotiations are concluded, we will organize the details and promptly inform you."

Regarding the introduction of 10 million doses of vaccines through the joint vaccine purchase and distribution project 'COVAX Facility (COVAX)', Director Jung explained, "We already made an advance payment and signed the agreement on October 9," and added, "The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), which is responsible for vaccine supply, held a briefing on December 18 stating that supply would begin in the first quarter."

Director Jung said, "We are currently negotiating the volume that can be supplied in the first quarter through GAVI," and continued, "We have received some proposals for vaccine products, expressed our intention to purchase them, and are continuing discussions on the specific quantities and supply schedule."

He explained, "This is not only a negotiation with our country but also requires coordination among various countries participating in COVAX to decide on the allocation and supply timing," adding, "From the government's standpoint, we are continuing negotiations to ensure that the volume can be received promptly in the first quarter."

Director Jung stated, "GAVI has announced a policy to supply about 3%, which corresponds to the initial response volume, in the first half of the year," and added, "We will inform you once the supply timing and the supplied products are finalized."

Regarding the government's goal to complete vaccinations to form herd immunity by the third quarter of next year, he explained, "Since a large volume of vaccines is scheduled to be supplied to Korea starting from the third quarter, we plan to increase vaccinations as much as possible by then and proceed with the vaccination plan without disruption."

He said, "Since the vaccines have not been approved for a long time and clinical trials have not been conducted for a long period, investigations are still ongoing regarding how long the immune effect from the vaccines lasts," adding, "There is uncertainty about whether additional or periodic vaccinations are necessary, so considering these factors, the herd immunity formation level and vaccination plans need to be continuously supplemented."

Regarding plans for additional vaccine procurement, Director Jung added, "Since we have currently confirmed about 56 million doses, we are not yet reviewing additional volumes."

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