Citizens wearing masks are moving to work at Sindorim Station on Subway Line 1 in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 19th. News 1
As early as next month, Pfizer Pharmaceutical’s new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine is expected to be vaccinated for the first time in Korea. The government decided to speed up the formal product approval process as well as designating vaccination centers by local governments for rapid vaccine distribution.
“The first vaccination was scheduled at the end of February, but it is highly likely that the first vaccine will be available before the Lunar New Year holiday,” said Park Jong-hyun, the safety communication officer of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, at an online press briefing on the 21st. Of the vaccines ordered by the Korean government to’Covax Facility’, 50,000 Pfizer vaccines will be supplied faster than expected. It is planned to inoculate the medical staff at the hospital dedicated to infectious diseases.
Cobax Facility is an international project for the joint purchase and distribution of vaccines led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Infectious Disease Prevention and Innovation Alliance (CEPI). In October of last year, the Korean government paid an advance payment of 85 billion won to Cobax Facility and signed a vaccine contract for 10 million people.
Currently, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security has selected 6,079 influenza vaccination institutions that meet the criteria for designation of consignment agencies for vaccination at room temperature. As there are 20,000 flu vaccination agencies nationwide, there is no big difficulty in filling the target of 10,000.
However, no vaccination center has been designated as yet for cryogenic storage vaccines. The vaccines made by Pfizer and Modena are all cryogenic vaccines. Manager Park said, “The vaccination center, which will be visited by 1,000 to 3,000 people a day, must have a self-powered facility that can operate a cryogenic freezer for 24 hours, and it must have a waiting room and a large-scale parking facility to see adverse reactions for 30 minutes after vaccination. This is tricky.”
Currently, 150 of the 250 vaccination center targets, including indoor gymnasiums and performance and cultural facilities, have been nominated. The Ministry of Public Administration and Security plans to select 250 vaccination centers by next week in consultation with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least one vaccination center will be installed per city, county, and district, and three Jian will have a population of more than 500,000.
Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea started the final work to apply for an item permission to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety during this month. In order to introduce a vaccine into Korea, it must obtain approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its safety and effectiveness. Pfizer Pharmaceutical has already applied to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 18th for a preliminary review of non-clinical and clinical phase 1, 2, and 3 data corresponding to all stages of this procedure.
However, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety are considering a plan to grant approval for emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine supplied by Kovacs. This means that it will allow vaccination without going through the formal authorization process.
Currently, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is undergoing approval review for AstraZeneca’s novel corona vaccine, and Janssen’s vaccine is undergoing preliminary review of data related to clinical trials. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has set up a separate approval team for rapid vaccination of the new corona vaccine, and has reduced the approval review period from 180 days to within 40 days.
Byun Tae-seop reporter [email protected]
Maeng Ha-kyung reporter [email protected]
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