74.1% of the Population Received the First Vaccine Dose... Over 38.06 Million Vaccinated

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the number of new COVID-19 cases surges, the pace of vaccination has picked up again, with the proportion of people who have completed the first dose reaching 74.1% of the total population.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Promotion Team) on the 26th, a total of 312,348 people received their first dose the previous day, and 214,852 people completed the recommended number of doses for each vaccine. The combined number of first and second doses reached around 1 million on the 23rd (930,655) and 24th (1,002,874), recovering to pre-Chuseok holiday levels, but dropped somewhat to 527,200 on the previous day due to the weekend effect. The number of new first-dose recipients by vaccine was 178,450 for Moderna, 132,958 for Pfizer, 900 for Janssen, and 40 for AstraZeneca (AZ).

As of midnight that day, the cumulative number of first-dose recipients in the country was 38,060,486, accounting for 74.1% of the total population. Based on the population aged 18 and over, 86.2% have completed the first dose. By vaccine, Pfizer accounted for 20,448,415, AstraZeneca 11,087,681, and Moderna 5,102,502. The cumulative number of Janssen vaccine recipients was 1,426,258. Those who received the Janssen vaccine, which requires only one dose, are included in both the first and second dose figures.

The total number of people who have completed both doses reached 23,213,814, representing 45.2% of the total population and 52.6% of the population aged 18 and over. By vaccine, AstraZeneca accounted for 10,341,251 (including 1,602,234 who received mixed doses), Pfizer 10,247,491, Moderna 1,198,814, with the remainder being Janssen recipients.

The Promotion Team is temporarily extending the interval between mRNA vaccine doses (Moderna and Pfizer) to up to 6 weeks in consideration of uncertainties in vaccine supply, and allows shortening the interval when using leftover vaccines for the second dose.