I have secured a vaccine for the whole country… Office workers will be vaccinated only in the fourth quarter of next year

◆ Corona vaccine/treatment ◆

As President Moon Jae-in announced that he would directly negotiate with Modena, a global corona19 vaccine company, to receive a vaccine supply for 20 million people, twice the original plan, interest is drawing attention on the timing of vaccination in Korea. According to the Blue House announcement on the 29th, as the supply of modders and vaccines has doubled, the number of vaccines secured by the government reaches 56 million, which is 10 million more than the original announcement. This is a figure that remains even after all Koreans have been vaccinated. According to the Blue House, in a video call between President Moon and Stefan Bansel Modena, the CEO the day before, they agreed to advance the introduction of moder or vaccine from the third quarter of next year to the second quarter.

According to the government, the AstraZeneca vaccine will be available in stages from February to March next year, with Janssen in the second quarter and Pfizer in the third quarter. The COVAX vaccine will be available in the first quarter, and the first quantity may come before AstraZeneca. The total number of vaccines for which the government has signed a purchase contract or is scheduled to purchase 56 million people exceeds the total population of Korea, which exceeds 58.38 million people, and is equivalent to 127% of only 44.1 million people over the age of 18 who can vaccinate.

Yang Dong-gyo, head of the Medical Safety Prevention Bureau of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “Vaccines will be introduced in stages from the first quarter of next year.” There will be. The Central Defense Response Headquarters said that the detailed vaccination plan on the previous day will be announced in January of next year.

The government aims to allow vaccinations to begin immediately from February to March next year, when the vaccine is first supplied, and to inoculate enough to form collective immunity by at least the third quarter. As for the vaccination priority, 36 million people, including workers in high-risk medical institutions and the elderly living in nursing hospitals, are being reviewed. The vaccination is expected to start from February to March next year from the AstraZeneca vaccine. The Janssen vaccine, which will be introduced in the second quarter, said on the 24th that Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun said, “Jansen is expected to start vaccination from the second quarter of next year by contracting 6 million people, which is 2 million more than the original amount.” President Roh Young-min, presidential secretary general, said at a high-ranking party-political meeting held at the National Assembly on the 27th, “countries around the world will start vaccination for the general public in the second quarter of next year.” I once said. In addition, it is known that a Democratic Party official said, “Priority vaccination targets such as medical staff and the elderly can enter the vaccination in February, and the general public can enter the vaccination from April.” However, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is developing a vaccination plan, did not specifically disclose the timing of vaccination for the general public.

On the other hand, the USFK base started vaccinating Modena from that day, and Korean personnel were not included in the vaccination target on that day. The Korean government explained that it requested that the Korean government wait for the internal review procedure for Korean vaccinations in USFK, including KATUSA Soldiers. In the United States, multiple vaccines such as Pfizer, Bioentech, and Modena are provided. However, just like in Korea, you cannot choose a vaccine for yourself. “You have to be content with getting the vaccine,” said Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

[정슬기 기자 / 고보현 기자]
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