코로나 백신 내년 초 도입-접종시기 미정…노인-의료인 우선고려
Starting with the big news of the day.
The South Korean government has secured pre-orders of COVID-19 vaccines from several sources.
While the timeline is to be decided, a team will be formed to make sure the overall vaccination process runs as smoothly as possible.
Kim Do-yeon has the details.
The South Korean government has secured enough vaccines for 44 million people after striking deals with a number of vaccine developers and from a global vaccine project.
On Tuesday, the Health Minister announced that as well as the doses for 10 million people from the COVAX Facility, the government has pre-ordered additional vaccines from four vaccine developers.
Those deals are... 20 million doses from AstraZeneca, 20 million from Pfizer, 4 million from Jassen, and 20 million from Moderna.
A total of 34 million people will be able to be vaccinated by those doses.
All together, roughly 88 percent of the total population of South Korea can be vaccinated.
The government also explained that it will be flexible when it starts to roll out vaccines but said it'll begin by March at the latest.
"We will begin preparations for COVID-19 vaccines. We expect many obstacles along the way due to the COVID-19 vaccines requiring complicated storage conditions and having short expiration dates. The government will start the preparation process regardless of when it starts."
He added there will be a new task force created for the vaccination process.
With the vaccines not yet developed completely, the government will make sure they are safe for use before distributing them.
The government says the plan is to have the most vulnerable, such as senior citizens, and front-line medical workers vaccinated first.
The minister also showed hopes for domestic COVID-19 treatments.
"In addition to COVID-19 vaccines, we may have some results for the approvals on multiple domestic treatments by the end of the year or at the latest... early next year."
South Korean pharmaceutical company Celltrion has been waiting for emergency approval for its antibody treatment, which it claims effectively prevents mild COVID-19 patients from developing a severe case.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.
