Commissioner Seungkwan Lim Announces Enhancement Plans at New Year's Meeting
Tailored Responses by Crisis Type According to Infectious Disease Characteristics
Internalizing mRNA Vaccine Development Technology by 2028
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has announced a plan to enhance the infectious disease crisis management system in preparation for future pandemics. The agency believes that, as the COVID-19 recovery phase is coming to an end, now is the 'golden time' to prepare measures that can mitigate the impact of the next pandemic.
Seungkwan Lim, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, held a New Year's meeting at a restaurant in Osong, Chungbuk on the 19th and announced plans to advance the infectious disease crisis management system to prepare for the next pandemic. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency
On January 19, Seungkwan Lim, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, held a New Year's meeting in Osong, Chungbuk, and unveiled detailed plans based on this initiative.
The agency will classify future infectious disease crises into two types according to their characteristics and respond with tailored strategies. For 'limited transmission types'-diseases with high virulence but low transmissibility, such as MERS and Ebola-the goal is to eliminate the risk within a short period. To achieve this, the agency plans to maintain highly specialized facilities and elite personnel at all times to thoroughly control the spread of risk.
In contrast, for 'pandemic types'-diseases with low virulence but high transmissibility, such as COVID-19-the plan is to manage the risk and gradually transition the disease to an endemic status, as complete eradication is difficult due to its strong transmissibility.
To this end, the agency has established a response plan that includes: identifying the nature of the threat within 100 days, completing vaccine development within 200 days, and finishing vaccinations within 300 days. The strategy is to use the time gained by clarifying the threat to develop vaccines and treatments, reduce the risk, and then implement a four-step process to gradually normalize social operations.
The agency is also accelerating the development of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines. The goal is to complete the development of a domestically produced COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and internalize platform technology by 2028. Clinical Phase 1 trials are currently underway, and the agency aims to have the capability to develop a vaccine within 200 days of a new pandemic declaration in the future.
Additionally, the 'Infectious Disease Clinical Research and Analysis Center' will be established using donations from the late Lee Kunhee, former Chairman of Samsung. This center will continuously study clinical data during normal times and, in times of crisis, will serve as a terminal hub to shorten clinical trial periods through public-private cooperation.
The medical response system will also be advanced into a four-tier structure based on expertise. The highest level, 'Infectious Disease Specialized Hospitals (Tier 1),' will go beyond simple treatment to play a key role in identifying the nature of risks and providing education and training to lower-level medical institutions.
For social intervention measures such as the quarantine pass and social distancing-which have been sources of social conflict-the agency will prioritize scientific evidence. Policies will be determined by comprehensively considering socioeconomic impacts rather than simply the number of confirmed cases. By establishing a 'Public Health and Social Response Manual,' the agency will also increase the predictability of public guidelines. Specific requirements for cohort isolation will be stipulated by law to prevent arbitrary quarantines, thereby strengthening human rights protections.
The agency is also working to build governance for public communication. Commissioner Lim stated, "The essence of pandemic response ultimately lies in risk communication," emphasizing that building governance to understand and communicate with the public based on scientific evidence is a crucial task."
Meanwhile, the agency is currently gathering input from various sectors and voices from the field through the 'Task Force for Enhancing Infectious Disease Crisis Preparedness and Response System,' which is already in operation. The final detailed plan will be confirmed in July.
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