At the National Assembly on the 27th, the controversy about securing a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine was reignited. President Roh Young-min, chief of secretary for President Roh Young-min, who attended the high-ranking party, government, and government council, said, “By February next year, vaccination will begin for medical staff and the elderly.” Ho-young Joo, who had requested a press conference in advance, met with the insistence of introducing a’Korea-US vaccine swap’, saying, “Only planting optimism can cause even greater misfortune.”
President Roh Young-min, secretary of President Roh Young-min at a high-ranking party-political meeting held at the National Assembly on the 27th, said, ″Korea is still a model country for quarantine in all indicators related to Corona 19. The world’s best quarantine system is preventing the spread, and the world’s best medical system is protecting people’s lives.” yunhap news
“We have already secured enough quantities to protect the Korean people in terms of the quantity of (secure vaccines),” said Mr. Roh. “Each country will start vaccination for the general population in the second quarter of next year (April to June). We will also start vaccinations for the general public at the same time,” he added, adding, “The timing of forming group immunity will be similar to that of foreign countries or rather faster.”
Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun, who sat next to him, said, “We decided to introduce a vaccine for 46 million people, which is 2 million more than originally planned,” and said, “We will carefully prepare the contracted vaccine quantity to be vaccinated from the first quarter of next year.” These are remarks that refute the point that the government’s vaccination warfare is relatively lagging behind the US and the UK. Prime Minister Chung said, “It is difficult to definitively say that because it is affected by the production capabilities of each pharmaceutical company,” regarding the specific timing of introduction of 46 million people.
There were also remarks that were conscious of the heightened public anxiety. Prime Minister Chung said, “After the diagnosis, we are solving a large part of the problem of waiting at home,” and Mr. Roh also explained that “the Disease Management Administration will soon inform the public about the current status of securing vaccines and vaccination plans.” Chief Roh didn’t even skip the word “still a model country for quarantine”. In addition, the Democratic Party, the government, and the Blue House discussed ways to support Corona 19 damage, including the third disaster subsidy, and checked measures to secure quarantine and treatment facilities, and vaccination plans.
On the day, Ho-young Joo, head of the People’s Power, said that “in Korea, where more than 1,000 confirmed cases are already coming out one after another, and asymptomatic infections are one after another, the effectiveness of K-quarantine has already disappeared.” yunhap news
However, the opposition party continued to point out that “optimism without grounds”. Representative Joo criticized the prospects of the government and the ruling party, saying, “There is a saying that if you perform a ritual with your mouth, the whole people will burst and die.” The AstraZeneca vaccine secured by the government was cut down as “a vaccine that has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has not been approved in the UK, which is a developing country.”
‘Han-US Vaccine Swap’ was the first card I took out this day. The main hospital representative said, “It is urgent to secure early vaccines through diplomatic consultations with countries that have purchased abundantly, not through contracts with vaccine manufacturers. The vaccine swap will be another security alliance.” Like currency swaps that exchange currency at a predetermined exchange rate at a predetermined time, it is argued to sign an exchange agreement with the United States, such as first receiving emergency vaccine supplies and then repaying them with domestic vaccines produced later.
The People’s Power emphasized that this swap method is a proposal based on the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA). During a press conference, the Corona Countermeasures and Diplomacy Security Committee said, “In the’Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices’ section of Chapter 5 of the Korea-US FTA, the content’promoting the development of high-quality patents and cloned medicines’ was contained.” We will deliver the vaccine swap proposal to the US Congressional think tank.” As Korea has more than 20% of the world market’s biosimilars (bio-generic drugs) production facilities, it is the opinion of the people that it will not be in the form of a favorable vaccine.
Reporter Kim Hong-bum [email protected]