(Photo = AP = Yonhap News)
As early as next month, a new coronavirus infectious disease (Corona 19) vaccine is expected in Korea, and attention is being drawn to what will be the’Korea’s No. 1’vaccine.
According to the medical community and the quarantine authorities on the 22nd, Korea has signed a contract to supply the Corona 19 vaccine with four overseas pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Janssen, Pfizer, and Modena.
Among them, the vaccine that the government initially predicted to be the fastest to be introduced is AstraZeneca. This is because AstraZeneca is the only vaccine that is being reviewed by applying for an item license from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
AstraZeneca vaccine will be approved in February. Pfizer’s vaccine is in the’preliminary review’ stage before full-scale product approval screening.
However, when looking at the status of overseas vaccinations alone, Pfizer vaccines are trending ahead. Pfizer vaccine is being vaccinated in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
Countries that have started vaccination against AstraZeneca are India and the United Kingdom, and the number is quite small.
In fact, Pfizer’s products will be promisingly reviewed for vaccines that will be delivered to Korea in early February through the international project’Covax Facility’. Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea also announced that it would apply for an item permission to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety within this month.
However, it is unclear whether the Pfizer vaccine, which has not yet applied for permission, can be vaccinated in early February through the usual procedure.
As a result, there is a possibility that the Pfizer vaccine will be introduced in Korea through the’special import’ procedure in addition to product approval.
The special import of medicines is a system that allows the import of drugs that are not licensed in Korea from abroad in order to cope with the public health crisis such as an infectious disease pandemic.
To date, the government has secured a total of 56 million vaccines through Cobax Facility and individual pharmaceutical companies. In addition, it is negotiating with the US NovaVax to secure an additional 20 million people.
In addition to the 10 million Cobax facilities, the existing reserves are 20 million for Modena, 10 million for AstraZeneca, 10 million for Pfizer, and 6 million for Janssen.
Eunji Cha, reporter Hankyung.com [email protected]
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