The first Corona 19 vaccine to enter Korea earlier next month was confirmed as a Pfizer vaccine supplied through’CoVax Facility’, a multinational vaccine supply alliance. As the first vaccine, AstraZeneca vaccine was expected to be introduced at the end of next month, but other vaccines are expected to be introduced earlier than this.
Jeong Se-gyun, on the 20th, “Answers saying that you will receive a call in early February or not.”
On the 20th, an official from the quarantine authorities said, “Out of the 10 million contracted with Kovacs Facility early next month, the 50,000 who will arrive first is Pfizer vaccine.” Prior to this day, Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun appeared on MBC radio and mentioned this possibility. Prime Minister Chung said, “I answered that I would receive a call in early February (from Kobax) and I am preparing now.” Korea has secured 10 million people through COVAX, but the specific timing of introduction and type of vaccine have not been confirmed so far.
Illustration of the global pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. AFP=Yonhap News
Prime Minister Chung explained, “The amount is not large,” and “It is 100,000 doses, for 50,000 people, and that is not confirmed, and we are discussing it. When asked, “Can the first vaccination be started in the beginning and the middle of February,” he said, “we are fully preparing to do so,” and said that the first vaccination target is likely to be a medical staff.
Earlier, President Moon Jae-in said at a New Year’s press conference on the 18th, “There is a possibility that the amount of Kovacs (facility) will come in first. We plan to start vaccination from February and finish the first vaccination of the people who need vaccination by September.” Said.
The government is speeding up the preparation of vaccinations in preparation for the possibility of a vaccine coming in sooner than expected. Shin Hye-kyung, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a regular briefing on the 20th, “There is a possibility that we can enter in early February, so we are preparing all the relevant matters quickly so that we can get the vaccine right away.
However, the timing of supplying Pfizer vaccines has not been confirmed in early February. The officials said that Kovacs will finalize the specific volume of each country by the end of January. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is working on a preliminary review of the Pfizer vaccine. It usually takes about 60 days for a quick permit review. However, if a special approval system is used, the vaccine can be quickly entered as soon as the vaccine is available. The special import system for pharmaceuticals is a system in which the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety imports drugs that are not approved in Korea at the request of the relevant department heads in order to cope with the public health crisis situation such as an infectious disease pandemic. In June of last year, Gilead’s COVID-19 treatment, Remdesivir, was quickly introduced into Korea through this system. The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved for emergency use by the US FDA and the World Health Organization (WHO). An official from the quarantine authorities explained, “As long as the time of introduction of the vaccine is confirmed, there is no problem with approval, distribution, or vaccination. As soon as the vaccine is introduced, it is ready enough to be inoculated.”
Graphic images of the recommended targets for domestic vaccination. Reporter Kim Young-hee
In order to bring Pfizer vaccine and inoculate it nationwide, a special distribution network that can be frozen at -70 degrees Celsius must be installed. The authorities have set up a separate vaccination center. According to a government official, a contract with a company that can distribute cryogenic temperatures is imminent. It has already secured 100 domestic products so that a cryogenic freezer can be placed in the inoculation center. It is planned to be deployed at the vaccination center by the end of January.
Pfizer’s initial supply of 50,000 people is likely to go back to the first-line medical staff treating Corona 19 patients, as Prime Minister Chung revealed. The government initially selected 566,000 elderly people aged 65 or older living in nursing homes or nursing homes as their top priority. However, due to the small volume, analysis showed that it is better to match the medical staff first than to match some of them. Accordingly, it is expected that the first vaccination in Korea will be the medical staff.
Reporters Minwook Kim and Sooyeon Hwang [email protected]