Pfizer vaccination is taking place on the 11th in Haifa, Israel. AFP=Yonhap News
The government announced its plan to vaccinate the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) to 43.5 million people, starting the first vaccination in February. Currently, there are 76 million vaccines secured. If the vaccination proceeds according to the government’s plan, 32.4 million people will remain. How will the excess vaccine be handled?
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 29th, the government plans to first inoculate 1.3 million people, including those admitted to and working in nursing hospitals at high risk for Corona 19, and medical personnel at a hospital dedicated to Corona 19, within the first quarter of this year. In the second quarter, 9 million people, including the elderly over 65 years old, are targeted. In the 3rd to 4th quarter, the number of vaccinations will increase dramatically. This is because it includes adults (18 to 64 years old). There are 33.5 million people. According to the government’s plan, 43.55 million people will get the Corona 19 vaccine by the end of this year. Children, adolescents, and pregnant women whose clinical trial results are not available are excluded from the vaccination. All citizens excluding these are eligible for vaccination.
The amount of vaccines secured by the government amounts to 76 million people. Looking at the government’s contract volume, the multinational vaccine supply alliance’COVAX Facility’ 10 million people, AstraZeneca 10 million people, Janssen 6 million people, Pfizer 10 million people, Modena 20 million people. In addition, 20 million Novabacks are being secured. This is the quantity left after hitting 51.8 million Koreans once.
The government’s vaccination target is 70% of the population excluding children, adolescents and pregnant women. The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory like the influenza (flu) vaccine. The government explained that even if 70% of the people are vaccinated, there is no problem in forming collective immunity. Will there be tens of millions of vaccines that have been secured by a simple calculation?
The Agency for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized, “As there are uncertainties such as whether or not the vaccine was successfully developed and the scope of approval, it is necessary to secure a vaccine in consideration of the aspect of protecting public health through securing the vaccine rather than the possibility of disposal.”
“Overseas countries are also making efforts to secure sufficient vaccines, and the Korean government has also purchased sufficient quantities to ensure timely required vaccinations.” “Establishing an efficient distribution and storage system, encouraging and promoting to improve vaccination rates, We will try to minimize the discard of the vaccine through various efforts such as prompt vaccination.”
The contracted vaccine volume does not come into Korea all at once. They are divided according to production status. There is a possibility that they will arrive later than the time specified in the contract. In fact, in Europe, where vaccination was started earlier, production of the vaccine is delayed and the supply problem is turning into a lawsuit. Pfizer notified the Italian government earlier this month that it would cut its supply by 30%, and vaccinations were suspended throughout Italy. The Italian government announced a lawsuit against Pfizer. In addition, problems with the quality and side effects of certain vaccines may arise. Taking this into account, the government said that several pharmaceutical companies had distributed contracts.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Chung Eun-kyung and government officials stand in front of the vaccination system information board together with relevant ministries at the Corona 19 Vaccination System Briefing held at the CDC briefing room in Cheongju City, Chungcheongbuk-do. News 1
A government official said, “The amount currently secured is sufficient to secure normal population immunity.” However, there are variables such as the fluidity of vaccine manufacturing and production, uncertainty in the duration of immunity, and adverse reactions for each vaccine. In order to prepare for this situation, we are trying to secure additional supplies.”
The possibility that those who received the first half vaccination will need to be revaccinated in the fall should also be considered. Chun Byung-cheol, a professor of preventive medicine at Korea University, said, “The Corona 19 vaccine is the first vaccine that humanity is vaccinated against. No one knows how far the vaccine-obtained antibodies will go. In the case of influenza vaccine, the antibody is maintained for about 6 months. In that regard, there is a possibility that the antibodies of the people who were vaccinated in the early days will weaken or disappear by the fall.” Professor Chun added, “If the antibody weakens after a few months, it may be necessary to re-vacculate.”
Vaccine in one bottle for 5-10 people, divided into syringes
Vaccines that are forced to be discarded during the vaccination phase may also be available. Vaccines introduced in Korea contain 5-10 people per vial (bottle). Unlike influenza vaccines for mass production and large-scale distribution, it is made only in large doses. Therefore, the inoculation medical staff should “dispense” (dividing it into a syringe) and inoculate it. A disposable syringe must be inserted into the vaccine bottle and injected exactly as much as the inoculation amount. It is tricky compared to regular vaccines. There are also significant losses in this process abroad. Each vaccine is different, but once opened, it should be used within 2 to 6 hours. If the distribution of the number of vaccinations is not elaborated on an hourly basis, many vaccines can be discarded.
Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-seon is unveiling the Corona 19 vaccine syringe while briefing ‘2020 SME export trends and characteristics’ at the joint briefing room of the Sejong-ro Government Complex in Seoul on the 19th. News 1
A government official said, “There may be trial and error during vaccination in the first and second quarters, as they did abroad. There will also be a lot of vaccines thrown away in the process. Taking all these points into consideration, we have secured a vaccine,” he said. “We will check and correct the problems that occur in the early stages so that the vaccination will be more smoothly performed during the mass vaccination in the second half.”
Jeong Ki-seok, a professor of respiratory medicine at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, said, “I think the government’s vaccination plan is well organized, but there are some things that the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention cannot do. It is that there may be surprisingly few people who will be vaccinated,” he said. “Our country is a country with few vaccination rejections. However, since it is the first vaccine to be introduced, the Ministry of Culture and Sports should actively participate in the discussion to actively promote why we should get the vaccine and how safety is guaranteed.”
Reporter Esther and Kim Min-wook [email protected]