Director Ki Mo-ran Advocates Rapid Vaccination... Will There Be a Clash with Commissioner Jung Eun-kyeong on Quarantine and Vaccines?

"Second Dose Not Always Necessary
12-Week Interval Between Doses Is Also Acceptable"
Focus on Increasing Vaccination Rate
Careful Stance Clashes with Commissioner Jeong

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Seo So-jeong and Lee Ji-eun] The Blue House has established a new position of Quarantine Planning Officer and appointed Professor Ki Moran from the National Cancer Center, drawing attention to potential changes in future quarantine and vaccine roadmaps. Officer Ki has consistently opposed the 'vaccine shortage' controversy and advocated for rapid vaccination using existing imported vaccines. Concerns have also been raised that if conflicts arise with Jung Eun-kyung, the head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), who is the quarantine commander, it could lead to confusion in quarantine efforts.

First, there is a possibility that Officer Ki will present opinions differing from those of Director Jung regarding vaccine administration. Officer Ki, who served as the chairman of the Korean Society of Preventive Medicine's COVID-19 Countermeasures Committee and was a member of the KDCA's Vaccination Expert Committee, consistently maintained the stance that vaccination should not be halted when concerns about AstraZeneca vaccine efficacy in the elderly and blood clot controversies in younger populations emerged.

In a recent phone interview with Asia Economy, Officer Ki stated, "The current vaccination speed of the KDCA is excessively slow," and emphasized, "We must dramatically increase vaccination rates by utilizing existing infrastructure." He also argued, "In the case of AstraZeneca, a single dose provides 60-70% preventive effect, so in the context of unstable vaccine supply, a second dose is not absolutely necessary," adding, "Although the recommended interval between doses is up to 12 weeks after the first dose, receiving it later does not pose a problem."

This stance contrasts with Director Jung's current position. Director Jung has stated, "The vaccination interval should not exceed the recommended 12 weeks, and we will not adopt a strategy of administering only the first dose as done in the UK."

Opinions also differ regarding the introduction of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V. Officer Ki has advocated for the active introduction of Sputnik V amid concerns about the increasing concentration on messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna, which has raised the need for additional vaccine imports. The KDCA has only expressed a general position of considering this.

Professor Jung Jae-hoon of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Gachon University Gil Medical Center pointed out, "While considering its introduction, since Sputnik V uses a viral vector method similar to AstraZeneca and Janssen, it cannot be free from blood clot controversies, so thorough verification must be conducted simultaneously."

The delayed reform of the 'social distancing' system could also become a point of contention. Officer Ki, a member of the government's quarantine advisory body, the Life Quarantine Committee, advocated in February for simplifying the current five-level distancing system into life quarantine (level 0) and levels 1, 2, and 3. As COVID-19 prolongs, public fatigue intensifies, and conflicts arise between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the central government over quarantine measures, conflict resolution has emerged as a key task.

Concerns about overlapping authority have surfaced with Officer Ki's appointment while Director Jung has been granted full quarantine authority. The Blue House emphasized, "Until now, the Senior Secretary for Social Affairs oversaw both quarantine and vaccination, but by establishing the Quarantine Planning Officer position to exclusively handle quarantine tasks, quarantine operations can be managed more professionally."