5000 Million Vaccination Plan Ahead of Chinese New Year Holiday
Southeast Asian Countries Also Begin Year-End Vaccinations
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As Pfizer, a U.S. pharmaceutical company, applies for approval to use its COVID-19 vaccine in Japan, it is expected that Japan's vaccination campaign could begin as early as this month. Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which marks a massive population movement, China also plans to launch a large-scale vaccination effort. Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia have announced plans to start vaccinations around the year-end and New Year period, signaling that the vaccination relay will intensify in Asia following the U.S. and Europe. In the U.S., where Pfizer vaccinations have already begun, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) has recommended approval for the Moderna vaccine, raising expectations that vaccinations with both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will start next week.
China and Japan Accelerate Vaccination
According to NHK, on the 18th, Pfizer is expected to apply for approval to use its vaccine from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Pfizer has already agreed with the Japanese government to supply 120 million doses of its vaccine to Japan by the first half of next year, so rapid approval is anticipated. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's parliament passed an amended vaccination law on the 2nd of this month to provide free COVID-19 vaccinations, leading to expectations that nationwide vaccinations will soon be implemented. The Japanese government is reported to have secured about 290 million doses (enough for 145 million people) from three pharmaceutical companies: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna, and plans to complete vaccinations for the entire population before the Tokyo Olympics in July next year.
China has also announced a vaccination plan targeting 50 million people ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday starting February 11 next year. According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Chinese government plans to distribute 100 million doses of vaccines developed by its state-owned pharmaceutical companies Sinopharm and Sinovac, aiming to vaccinate 50 million people by February 5 next year. The Chinese government is reportedly producing and securing 600 million doses through domestic pharmaceutical companies and recently announced that it has additionally secured 100 million doses from BioNTech, which co-developed the vaccine with Pfizer, through Shanghai-based pharmaceutical company Fosun Pharma.
Southeast Asian Countries Also Begin Year-End Vaccination Relay
Not only Japan and China but also Southeast Asian countries are intensifying efforts to secure vaccines and are expected to start vaccinations around the year-end and New Year period. Singapore, which was the first Asian country to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine on the 14th, is expected to begin vaccinations this month as vaccine supplies arrive. According to Singaporean media The Straits Times, the Singapore government has secured vaccines worth approximately 750 million USD (about 821.3 billion KRW) from pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac, although the exact quantities have not been disclosed.
Malaysia, which secured Pfizer vaccine doses first among Southeast Asian countries in November, is also expected to start vaccinations this month. Malaysia signed a purchase agreement for 12.8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine on the 27th of last month and plans to vaccinate 500,000 people by the first quarter of next year. Indonesia, which received an initial shipment of 1.2 million doses from China's Sinovac on the 6th, is also expected to begin vaccinations next month.
FDA Advisory Panel Recommends Moderna Use
Meanwhile, in the U.S. on the same day, the FDA advisory panel VRBPAC recommended emergency use authorization for the Moderna vaccine. According to CNN, VRBPAC reviewed the emergency use authorization for the Moderna vaccine and approved it with 20 votes in favor, 0 against, and 1 abstention, recommending approval to the FDA. After formal FDA approval and vaccination authorization by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Moderna is expected to become the second commercial vaccine in the U.S., following Pfizer's vaccine approved on the 13th. If the approval process proceeds as quickly as it did for the Pfizer vaccine, vaccinations could begin around the 20th or 21st of this month. The Moderna vaccine is expected to be easier to transport than the Pfizer vaccine, as it maintains efficacy when kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius during shipping, compared to the Pfizer vaccine which requires ultra-cold storage below minus 70 degrees Celsius.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
![User Who Sold Erroneously Deposited Bitcoins to Repay Debt and Fund Entertainment... What Did the Supreme Court Decide in 2021? [Legal Issue Check]](https://cwcontent.asiae.co.kr/asiaresize/183/2026020910431234020_1770601391.png)
