[Report] "We Will Try to Return Quickly"... Third Vaccine Moderna, Arrival Completed in Korea

On the 1st, a transport vehicle carrying 55,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine entered the GC Green Cross Ochang Plant in Ochang-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] "We will work hard to distribute so that the current situation can return to normal as soon as possible" (Kim Seong-hwa, GC Green Cross Ochang Plant Manager)

On the 1st, 55,000 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine were first delivered to the logistics center of GC Green Cross Ochang Plant in Ochang-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk.

After arriving at Incheon Airport around 3:45 PM and undergoing inspection, approximately 55,000 doses of Moderna vaccine departed for the Ochang Plant. At around 6:58 PM, escorted by military and police motorcycles and vehicles, the 7.5-ton wing-body truck arrived at the Ochang Plant.

The truck, marked with the phrase "GC Green Cross Overcomes COVID-19 Together," "COVID-19 Vaccine Transport," and the GC Green Cross logo, immediately arrived in front of the storage warehouse equipped with essential frozen storage and distribution facilities for messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine preservation.

Then, soldiers from the Military COVID-19 Vaccine Transport Support Unit, who were on standby, checked and removed the red seals attached to the vehicle as part of the handover process.

On the 1st, a military official checked the seal of the transport vehicle carrying 55,000 doses of Moderna vaccine delivered to GC Green Cross Ochang Plant in Ochang-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

At around 7:06 PM, the related procedures were completed, and the truck doors were opened. The Moderna vaccine boxes were loaded at the very front of the truck. The large box containing all 55,000 doses was accompanied by a paper printed in red capital letters stating "DO NOT X-RAY," along with the logo of the international logistics company Kuehne + Nagel, responsible for delivery from the Spanish Lobi factory to the Ochang Plant.

A GC Green Cross official explained, "Vaccines can be altered if exposed to X-rays, so X-ray scanning is prohibited during transportation."

A forklift that had been waiting moved the boxes to the entrance of the storage warehouse. From the warehouse entrance, GC Green Cross staff took charge of moving the boxes inside. The entire process was completed in about 15 minutes as the vaccines were brought inside through the double doors labeled "COVID-19 Vaccine Storage Anteroom."

Subsequently, inside the undisclosed warehouse, procedures were conducted to confirm receipt of the vaccines and check for any abnormalities.

The internal temperature of the storage warehouse was set to minus 20 degrees Celsius, in accordance with Moderna's storage standards for six months, ensuring that temperature fluctuations did not exceed 5 degrees. Additionally, GC Green Cross explained that for security, 16 CCTV cameras were installed inside and outside the warehouse, and the logistics control room, jointly staffed by military and police, would monitor in real time.

On the 1st, a forklift is moving boxes containing 55,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, delivered to GC Green Cross Ochang Plant in Ochang-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, to the storage warehouse.
[Photo by Lee Chunhee]

Kim Seong-hwa, GC Green Cross Ochang Plant Manager, said, "The whole nation is paying attention, and I feel a great responsibility to contribute even a little. We will work hard so that the current situation can return to normal as soon as possible." He added, "We prepared for this vaccine arrival through frequent consultations not only with Green Cross but also with the military, police, and the Fire Agency. The public, private, and military sectors will cooperate to successfully complete this distribution project."

The 55,000 doses of Moderna vaccine received that day will be administered this month to healthcare workers aged under 30 at hospital-level or higher medical institutions. Previously, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare workers affiliated with hospital-level or higher medical institutions were designated as recipients of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine. However, due to concerns about rare thrombosis associated with viral vector vaccines such as the AZ vaccine, the vaccination target was limited to those aged 30 and above.

The government has contracted a total of 40 million doses (20 million people) directly with Moderna. Of these, 55,000 doses were introduced for the first time on this day. The government explained that it is negotiating with each pharmaceutical company to import an additional 2,655,000 doses of vaccines including Moderna, Novavax, and Janssen within this month.