Government: "Pfizer and Moderna are the main focus in Q3... No issues with vaccine supply"

"Secured More Than Needed Quantity... Supply Should Be Sufficient"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government has reaffirmed its stance that there will be no disruptions in the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the third quarter. Even if some variables arise, such as the approval of the Novavax vaccine, the planned introduction of 80 million doses in the third quarter ensures that there will be sufficient vaccines.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated at the COVID-19 vaccine briefing on the 21st, "Initially, the vaccination plan for the third quarter was for about 23 million people, but since 15 million people were vaccinated in the first half of the year, vaccinations will likely be carried out for fewer people than planned," adding, "There will be no issues with vaccine supply necessary for the vaccination plan."

Son also said, "In the third quarter, the main vaccines will shift to Pfizer and Moderna," and added, "From the supply perspective, a much larger quantity than needed is coming in, so supply will be sufficient." He emphasized, "In July, with the confirmed supply volume, vaccinations can proceed according to the current plan, and in August, even more vaccines than required will be supplied."

In the first half of the year, South Korea's vaccination volume was mainly concentrated on AstraZeneca (AZ) and Pfizer vaccines. Other vaccines included 55,000 doses of Moderna vaccine, which arrived in mid-month, and 1.01 million doses of Janssen vaccine provided by the United States during the Korea-US summit. Notably, with the concentration of AZ vaccine supplies from individual contracts and the COVAX Facility in the first half, the number of people vaccinated with the AZ vaccine has exceeded 10 million.

However, some supply schedules for AZ vaccines, which were supposed to arrive this month, have been delayed, causing disruptions in this month's vaccination plans. Son stated, "We were informed that the COVAX AZ vaccines originally scheduled for June delivery will only be supplied in July," and added, "We are working with the expectation of delivery in July." Accordingly, the government has decided to conduct cross-vaccination with Pfizer vaccines for 760,000 people scheduled for their second AZ vaccine dose next month.