On the 3rd, head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Kang-rip Kim, announced the results of a special import review of Pfizer’s new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine secured through the international project’COVAX facility’ at the briefing room of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Cheongju, Chungbuk. Are doing. yunhap news.
Can we secure a vaccine for 10 million people this year through COVAX?
On the 16th, the medical community has naturally raised such questions after the government’s vaccination plan for the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) in the first quarter was revealed. On the 28th of last month, the government proposed a vaccination target for the first quarter of 1.3 million people. In addition to the 750,000 contracted separately, the plan is to secure AstraZeneca vaccine through Cobax Facility, a global vaccine supplier.
However, the AstraZeneca vaccine that can be received by the end of March through COVAX was at least 190,000. For this reason, the number of vaccinations in the first quarter in the first quarter of the detailed vaccination plan announced by the government on the 15th decreased significantly to about 757,000. ‘190,000 people’ is also a target for now.
It’s not just the AstraZeneca vaccine. The same is true of the 60,000 Pfizer vaccine, which is said to be the first to be introduced in Korea through COVAX this month and inoculated to medical personnel. The canal was ‘Early February’, and now the estimated time of vaccination has been delayed to mid-March. For this reason, criticism comes out as to whether the government is too much of a cobax.
Introduced Cobax supply, over two months
It was on December 8th last year that the government announced that it would bring in 10 million vaccines through Kovacs. Two months have passed since then, but the supply of Kovacs is still in the dark. Only about 60,000 Pfizer vaccines are repeating the word’coming soon’.
COVAX is an organization jointly operated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Vaccine Immunity Association (GAVI), and the Infectious Disease Innovation Association (CEPI). The decision-making process is bound to be complicated. Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious medicine at KoVac, said, “Because of the nature of COVAX, individual negotiations are impossible, so the schedule is unclear, but since the government emphasized that it has secured a large amount of COVAX, it was inappropriate.”
The government also acknowledges this. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jeong Eun-kyung, head of the COVID-19 vaccination and response promotion team, also said, “There is a delay because KOVAX has to go through administrative procedures simultaneously with many countries.”
Only 1% of the total volume is confirmed… fear of disruption in vaccination plans after the second quarter
The problem is that even after 2Q, supply of Kovacs is still uncertain. The government’s goal is to vaccinate 10 million people by the second quarter. However, out of the 76 million vaccines contracted by the government as of that day, all of AstraZeneca’s 760,000 vaccines have been confirmed. It is 1% of the total volume.
Even if other vaccines such as Janssen are available from the second quarter, this goal can be achieved only if the quantity of Covacs is supported. To this end, the government’s goal is to receive 1.3 million AstraZeneca vaccines and 200,000 Pfizer doses from COVAX by the second quarter. As seen in the first quarter case, it is unknown how effective this goal will be.
Kovacs’supply based on fatality rate’…
There are also constant criticisms that receiving Kobax supplies does not fit the national standard. COVAX is a system to provide vaccines to underdeveloped and developing countries where it is difficult to obtain vaccines on their own. It means whether it is appropriate for Korea, the world’s 10th largest economy, to get a vaccine. From the criticism that it is embarrassing to the criticism that the vaccine is eventually taken away from the developing countries.
This is also expected to act as an obstacle to securing Kovacs stocks. The more valuable vaccines become, the less they share, and from the perspective of Kovacs, it can be said that it will be given to underdeveloped countries first. Professor Kim Woo-joo said, “As the vaccine supply shortage continues, Kovacs is revealing that it will consider the fatality rate as a supply standard,” he pointed out.
Yu Hwan-gu reporter [email protected]
News directly edited by the Hankook Ilbo can also be viewed on Naver.
