Over 13 Million People Have Received the First Dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine... Vaccination Rate at 25.3%

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is receiving the COVID-19 vaccine (Janssen) at a hospital in Nowon-gu, Seoul, on the 15th. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The government’s goal of administering the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 13 million people by the first half of the year was achieved on the 15th.

Kim Ki-nam, Head of the Vaccination Planning Division at the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Task Force, stated at the regular briefing of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on the 15th, "As of 2:30 PM today, the number of people who have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has exceeded 13 million," adding, "The vaccination rate has surpassed 25%, meaning one in four Koreans has received at least one dose."

According to the task force, as of 2:30 PM on the same day, provisional statistics show that the number of people who received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine reached 13,000,497, exceeding 13 million. The corresponding vaccination rate is 25.3%.

With nearly 12.56 million people having received the first dose as of midnight that day, it was expected that the 13 million vaccination target would be achieved during the afternoon. This milestone was reached about 15 days earlier than the initial goal of vaccinating 25% of the population in the first half of the year, marking 110 days since the COVID-19 vaccination began on February 26. Considering that 1.63 million people have pre-registered for vaccinations between June 16 and 19, it is also anticipated that the 14 million mark could be reached within this week.

This achievement was largely due to the accelerating pace of COVID-19 vaccinations. It took 39 days to surpass 1 million vaccinations after the start of the campaign on February 26. However, after surpassing 10 million on the 10th, it took only 5 days to vaccinate an additional 3 million people.

After the domestic vaccination campaign began on February 26, it took a full 39 days to reach 1 million vaccinated individuals. Subsequently, it took about 50 days to vaccinate an additional 3 million people. However, the record of 13 million vaccinations was achieved just 5 days after surpassing 10 million on the 10th.

The government aims to complete the first dose for 36 million people, which is 70% of the entire population, by September. Following that, the plan is to complete the second dose for these individuals by November to achieve herd immunity.