"코로나19 백신 선도기업과 협상중…2천만명분 조달 문제없을듯"
South Korea has vowed to secure enough Covid-19 vaccines to vaccinate 60 percent of the population by next year. The government said it's currently in purchase negotiations with global pharmaceuticals and international bodies to secure enough batches. But, how so?
Bae Eun-ji has the details.
The South Korean government released its plan on Wednesday to distribute vaccines to 30-million people by next year.
The government said it is currently negotiating with pharmaceutical companies to secure vaccines for 20-million people.
Vaccines for the other 10-million have already been secured through the 'COVAX facility',... a global collaboration to allow equal access to COVID-19 vaccines.
"We are currently negotiating with all of the leading vaccine makers, and we don't expect major difficulties in reaching our goal."
Health minister Park Neung-hoo also said earlier on Tuesday that Pfizer and Moderna, which recently reported over 90-percent efficacy rates for their vaccine candidates,... are also trying to reach a deal with South Korea.
He added that it will be easy to secure vaccines from another leading bio-giant AstraZeneca, because its vaccines are being domestically produced.
South Korea actually seems to be turning into a new production base for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, as domestic pharmaceutical companies have signed a series of deals to manufacture these supplies.
Samsung Biologics has already recently manufactured a small amount of antibody treatment for COVID-19 with U.S.-based firm Eli Lilly.
And another industry leader SK bioscience has signed agreements to produce COVID-19 vaccines with AstraZeneca and U.S. firm Novavax.
The government will be announcing its specific plans on how to secure vaccines later this month.
Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News.
