Flight crew members wait at a hospital in western Seoul to receive COVID-19 vaccines on April 19, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will accelerate the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as the country has secured sufficient shots amid supply shortage concerns to achieve herd immunity by November, the country’s acting prime minister said Monday.
In a public message, Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki sought to allay public concerns about a shortage of vaccines and slow progress in the vaccinations as the country is bracing for another wave of infections.
Over the weekend, South Korea clinched a deal with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to import additional vaccines for 20 million people.
With the latest deal, the country has secured 192 million doses in total, enough to inoculate 99 million people, an amount almost double the nation’s 52 million population.
“With the latest deal with Pfizer, the country has laid the ground for advancing the timetable of herd immunity. We’ve also prepared for expanding vaccinations to those under age 18 and booster shots in response to virus variants,” Hong said.
Since South Korea began its vaccination campaign on Feb. 26, a total of 2.26 million people, or 4.4 percent of the 52 million population, have got at least their first shots.
The country aims to vaccinate 3 million people by this month and 12 million by end-June, with a goal of attaining herd immunity by November.
“The country plans to pump up efforts to vaccinate 1.5 million people per day by May,” Hong said.
He said the country is drawing up measures to help vaccinated people return to their normal lives by possibly allowing them to be exempt from mandatory two-week isolation should they have close contacts with virus patients or return from overseas trips.
“By using electronic vaccination certificates, the government is considering relaxing antivirus measures for vaccinated people, including exempting them from a (two-week) self-quarantine when they come in contact with virus patients or return from overseas travel,” Hong said.
This photo, taken on April 25, 2021, shows citizens waiting to receive COVID-19 tests at a state health center in eastern Seoul. (Yonhap)
Public anxiety about COVID-19 vaccinesincreased in recent weeks over safety concerns, and the country has witnessed spiking virus cases amid the fast spread of highly contagious variants and a global shortage of vaccines.
The number of daily virus cases shot up to near 800 last week on sporadic cluster infections after staying in the 300-400s in March. The country reported 500 more cases Monday, raising the total to 119,387, due to fewer weekend tests.
South Korea has secured COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX global vaccine project and separate deals with five pharmaceutical firms — AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen and Novavax.
In the first half, the country is expected to receive 18.09 million doses from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, according to health authorities. They are in talks with the other three firms to advance the imports of some 2.71 million shots by June.
The country added it has no plans to share vaccines with other countries, including North Korea.
Mindful of security concerns, the country has been administering AstraZenaca and Pfizer shots to people in specific groups, including patients and workers at long-term care hospitals and those age 75 and older.
Starting in late May, South Korea will begin to give shots to those age 70 to 74 as part of its vaccine rollout campaign for senior citizens. The vaccine rollout for younger adults is scheduled to begin in the summer.
Health authorities said they may be able to relax overall antivirus curbs if the country completes the vaccination of those deemed to be highly vulnerable to infections by end-June.
Since mid-February, the country has enforced Level 2 social distancing rules, the third highest in its five-tier scheme, in the greater Seoul area and Level 1.5 in other regions. Private gatherings of five or more people are banned nationwide.
(Yonhap)
