Corona 19 vaccination forecast early next month… Who will be right first?

As early next month, the first vaccine shipments for the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) are expected to enter Korea, and the government’s preparation work is also accelerating.

According to the quarantine authorities on the 25th, the government is known to be in the stage of finalizing the division of work by ministry and finalizing the current vaccination priorities. Therefore, specific measures for vaccination will come out on the 28th.

Currently, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport receives vaccine imports and the Ministry of Defense is in charge of distribution. Vaccination is administered by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

As the vaccination practice is imminent, size and priority are of greatest concern.

First of all, like other corona19 vaccination countries, the medical staff at the front line quarantine field puts the weight on the top priority vaccination. The elderly are also expected to receive vaccinations next month.

Pfizer and AstraZeneca are the most likely to step on Korean soil, of which AstraZeneca is known to have relatively insufficient clinical studies on the elderly. Therefore, it is reported that there is an internal discussion about the AstraZeneca vaccination in the elderly.

In addition, it is also noteworthy that the vulnerable groups, including the severely handicapped, and personnel who handle essential social services such as electricity, water, and gas are also included in the recommended targets for priority vaccination.

The number of COVID-19 vaccines the government has secured to date is 56 million doses. Among them, the first quantity to be brought in is the joint purchase and distribution of vaccines, or the initial quantity of the international project’COVAX facility’.

The government has signed a contract to supply a total of 10 million vaccines from Kovacs, of which 50,000 are expected to arrive in early February.

If vaccination begins before the Lunar New Year holiday (2.11-14), the target is likely to be a medical staff at a hospital dedicated to infectious diseases.

Following KOVAX, AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be introduced in the domestic market sequentially.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety received an application for a vaccine item license from AstraZeneca on the 4th and is currently reviewing nonclinical and clinical trial data, and plans to hold a meeting of the’Corona 19 Vaccine Safety and Effectiveness Verification Advisory Group’ on the 31st.

AstraZeneca vaccine, like COVEX, is scheduled to be supplied first.

The government previously announced that it plans to supply the quantity produced by SK Bioscience, a commissioned production facility of AstraZeneca, sequentially from February to March. It is reported that the first supply will be around 1 million out of the total 10 million.

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