President Moon Jae-in is speaking at the State Council meeting held at the Blue House Women’s Hall on the 29th. Senior Reporter Tae-Seok Wang
“When’V (abbreviation for the president of the Blue House staff)’ appeared, the atmosphere changed. Modena’s side changed considerably.”
When the Blue House announced’surprise’ on the 29th that the US pharmaceutical company Modena has decided to supply 20 million people (40 million doses) of a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine to South Korea, a senior government official gave a tip. Of course, the results of negotiating with Modena from the end of last August, led by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have only appeared at the end of the year.
However, in a situation where the world is fighting to secure a vaccine, Modena said that it would double the contract volume, which was for 10 million people (20 million doses), but it was President Moon Jae-in that pushed the start of supply expected in the second half to the second quarter It is a common explanation of those who know the situation that it is connected with the point of view taken by the initiative.
The contract has not been signed yet. However, the Blue House announced in advance through a briefing on the day of the’good news’ that was heard from the public concern about the introduction of vaccines and delays in vaccination. Blue House spokesman Kang Min-seok said, “President Moon Jae-in and CEO Stefan Vansel Modena (CEO) made a video call from 9:53 pm to 10:20 pm on the 28th.”
It was no other than Bill Gates, Chairman of the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, that President Moon spoke to a representative of a global company that was not a foreign leader. This means that President Moon paid considerable attention to resolving the people’s vaccination worries. It also reflects the urgency to secure a vaccine in a situation where the opposition party’s criticism of’vaccine incompetence’ is growing.
In the call, CEO Bancell said, “If the Korean government wants to sign a contract quickly, the contract will be possible within this year. I hope this is a news of hope for the Korean people.” President Moon said, “I want to sign a contract within this year as much as possible.” An official at the Blue House introduced, “It was difficult to sign a contract within the year, but the contract time was accelerated through the call.” The expected timing of signing a Modena contract announced by the government in mid-month was in January of next year. According to the Blue House, the purchase volume will double and the price will be cut. However, the width of the cut has not been confirmed yet.
A cargo plane carrying the US Department of Defense’s Corona 19 vaccine for US forces in Korea is landing at Incheon International Airport on the 25th. The vaccine delivered this time is a Moderna product. yunhap news
When this contract is signed, a total of 56 million people will be able to secure a vaccine, Kang explained. The day before, health officials announced that they had completed supply contracts with AstraZeneca for 10 million, Janssen for 6 million, and Pfizer for 10 million. It has secured 10 million people through’CoVax’, an international project for joint purchase and distribution of vaccines. Spokesman Kang said, “After additional negotiations with NovaVax and Pfizer, the amount of vaccines will be increased further.”
According to the Blue House, President Moon and CEO Bancell also agreed to “strengthen cooperation for the outsourced production of modders and vaccines to Korean companies.” “We know that the Korean government is putting great importance on the development of new bio drugs and that Korean companies have strong production capabilities. If we do consignment production, we will be able to build a large-scale production capacity,” said Bancell CEO. A government official said, “It cannot be said that the contracted production expansion and the additional volume were exchanged, but it is true that domestic companies actively supported moder and production helped to secure additional volume.”
Shin Eun-byul reporter [email protected]
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