[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Following the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines in South Korea, vaccinations with the Janssen and Moderna vaccines will be in full swing next month.
The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team announced at a regular briefing on the 30th that 1,012,800 doses of the Janssen vaccine, provided by the United States, will arrive in the country in early June via a military aircraft.
The Janssen vaccine will be prioritized for reservists aged 30 and over, civil defense personnel, and military-related workers.
The Janssen vaccine is a 'viral vector' type vaccine that requires only one dose. In the U.S., cases of thrombocytopenic thrombosis occurred after Janssen vaccinations, leading to a recommendation to suspend its use on the 13th of last month, which was lifted after ten days.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended resuming use while adding a label warning that the vaccine may cause blood clots.
In South Korea, the vaccine was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 7th of last month and is available for vaccination. However, considering cases in the U.S. and others, vaccination is recommended only for those aged 30 and above, similar to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
On the 1st of next month, the first batch of 55,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine will arrive at Incheon Airport at 12:45 PM.
The original arrival schedule was the 31st of this month but was postponed due to local circumstances.
The Moderna vaccine introduced this time will undergo national release approval procedures as planned and will be supplied in mid-June, intended for vaccination of medical institution workers under 30 years old at hospital level or higher.
The Moderna vaccine will be allocated to workers in hospital-level or higher medical institutions such as tertiary general hospitals, general hospitals, and hospitals who were not classified as 'priority vaccination targets,' including waste disposal and environmental sanitation workers, patient transport workers, medical assistants, and other high-risk groups with frequent patient contact.
The Moderna vaccine is an mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine similar to Pfizer’s and is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine approved domestically after AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Janssen.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held a final review committee including external experts on the 21st to examine safety and efficacy, granting approval on the condition that the final clinical trial report be submitted after approval.
Meanwhile, the government has secured a total of 99 million doses (192 million shots) of five types of vaccines: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, and Janssen. Including the separately received 1 million doses of the Janssen vaccine, the total has increased to 100 million doses.
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