Pfizer New First Dose Vaccinations Normalize from 22nd... AZ from 27th

From the 22nd, Pfizer First Dose Vaccinations to be Intensively Conducted Nationwide for 3 Weeks

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which had been virtually halted this month due to a temporary supply-demand imbalance, will resume starting on the 22nd.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Task Force on the 16th, new first-dose Pfizer vaccinations will be intensively conducted nationwide for three weeks beginning on the 22nd. The task force stated, "As planned, we focused on first-dose vaccinations until April, and accordingly, second-dose vaccinations have been concentrated until the third week of May. Starting from the 22nd, we will again focus on first-dose vaccinations and have requested local governments to assist in informing unvaccinated consenting seniors aged 75 and older of their respective first-dose vaccination schedules."

The target population for the Pfizer vaccine in the second quarter is approximately 3.67 million people, including 3.49 million aged 75 and older and 170,000 residents and workers in elderly care facilities. As of the 14th, 1.626 million people have completed their first dose, so vaccinations for the remaining 2.04 million will be carried out sequentially starting from the 22nd.

Previously, the task force had suspended new first-dose reservations from May, focusing on second doses, considering the phased weekly supply of the Pfizer vaccine. The interval between the first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine is three weeks. Typically, second-dose supplies are reserved after the first dose, but the government has temporarily used these for first doses and is administering second doses with vaccines introduced sequentially.

With the intensive first-dose vaccinations over three weeks starting on the 22nd, Pfizer vaccinations are expected to shift back to focusing on second doses from the second week of June.

Meanwhile, for the same reason, AstraZeneca vaccines, which had been focused on second doses, will begin first-dose vaccinations in earnest from the 27th. According to the task force, 1.068 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines contracted individually for the second quarter will be shipped from the Andong factory on the 17th and sequentially delivered to designated medical institutions. These vaccines are expected to be used for second doses resumed on the 14th and first doses starting on the 27th for the elderly aged 60 to 74.