S. Korea says will secure COVID-19 vaccines for 44 million people

The South Korean government said Tuesday it has agreed to buy 64 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, unveiling for the first time which and how many doses of vaccines the country intends to use.

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo said at a news conference Tuesday that Korea has prepurchased 20 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca, with deals for a further 44 million doses “now in the final stages” with Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen.

Pfizer and Moderna have each committed to supply Korea with 20 million doses of their vaccines, and Janssen 4 million doses, the minister said, with other details still being finalized.

This means Korea will now have access to a total stockpile of 64 million doses from four different developers, in addition to the 20 million doses already secured through the COVAX facility, a global initiative for fair vaccine access.

In theory, the combined doses from the prepurchases and COVAX facility will be enough for over 80 percent of people in Korea to get two doses each. With the exception of Janssen’s, the other three vaccines require two doses.

“The government decided to buy in excess of the targeted 60 million doses, in case not all of the vaccines prove safe and effective,” the minister said. In September, the government had said it aimed to procure vaccines to give up to 60 percent of the population, some 30 million people -- the rate of coverage needed to achieve herd immunity.

Deliveries are expected to start by spring, the first batch of which will be AstraZeneca’s. “All of the vaccines will be here before the end of next year, that I can promise,” the minister said, without giving the exact timeline for the first jabs.

Even after the vaccines are in Korea, they won’t be deployed right away. “The government will begin vaccinations once results from countries that are first to be vaccinated confirm the vaccines can be trusted,” the minister said.

“I don’t think the COVID-19 situation in Korea calls for any kind of rush. We will be monitoring updates from other countries for at least two to three months after rollout before the vaccines can be put to use here,” he said.

In stressing safety, the minister also mentioned all of the pharmaceutical companies have asked for protection from future liability claims, which the government was forced to accept. “But that is currently the international climate of vaccine negotiations,” he added.

The minister vowed the cold chain logistics necessary to store and transport the vaccines safely will be fortified before then. Particular challenges have been forecast for the Pfizer vaccine, which has to be kept in ultracold temperatures at minus 70 degrees Celsius. Two months ago, handling errors had led to nearly half a million doses of flu vaccines being withdrawn in Korea.

Tuesday’s announcement comes nearly six months after the government vaccine task force was formed in June. The government has said purchases were being delayed over concerns the vaccine trials may end in failure.

The minister said people considered at risk of severe complications from COVID-19, as well as health care workers, will be among the first to get the vaccines. People will not be able to choose which vaccine they receive.

The minister said the government would set aside 900 billion won ($829 million) from next year’s budget for funding the vaccine purchases, on top of the supplementary budget from this year, coming to 1.3 trillion won in total.

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)