Moon, first lady receive AstraZeneca shots to attend G-7 summit in June

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook received their first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, in preparation to visit the United Kingdom for a Group of Seven summit in June.

Moon, 68, was administered the shot in his left arm at the Jongno-gu public health center near the presidential office, along with first lady Kim and nine Cheong Wa Dae aides, including national security adviser Suh Hoon, who are accompanying them to Britain in June.

Korea has been invited by the UK to attend the G-7 meeting as a guest nation for the first time. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Cornwall, England, June 11-13. Under guidelines from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, those who are going overseas for essential purposes are given priority to receive the shot.

The first couple arrived at the facility at 9 a.m. and underwent temperature, identity and health checks.

“Since you are good at giving a shot, it does not hurt at all,” Moon said as he was inoculated.

After the vaccination, Moon presided over a meeting with his aides and went about business as usual, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Moon and the others who were vaccinated are all comfortable and in good condition.

During the meeting, the president was quoted as saying that it was necessary to speed up vaccinations so that people could return to normal as soon as possible.

Two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are required, and Moon is expected to get his second shot around mid-May.

The country began giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to patients and medical workers aged 65 and older at nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities and other high-risk facilities starting Tuesday. Inoculations for those over 65 were temporarily stopped for a month amid safety concerns after reports of patients developing blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe.

The health authorities here said Monday that they had found no evidence suggesting a link between the vaccine and reports of blood clots and decided to go ahead with the rollout.

Since Korea started vaccinations Feb. 26, about 680,000 health care workers and others have been vaccinated. They account for 1.3 percent of the nation’s population of around 52 million.

Seoul hopes to have a total of 12 million people vaccinated by the end of June, amid criticism over the government’s delay in procuring a sufficient number of vaccines in comparison with other countries.

Moon’s inoculation is also seen as an effort to dispel public concern over the safety of the vaccine and encourage citizens to get their shots. On Monday, Moon asked the public “not to be doubtful at all about the safety of the vaccine,” during a weekly meeting with senior Cheong Wa Dae aides.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)