South Korea already plans to secure enough doses to vaccinate 30 million people, or about 60% of the population, but Democratic Party lawmakers said they would appropriate funds to buy doses for at least 44 million people.
“The party plans to allocate an additional 1.3 trillion won ($1.2 billion) to next year’s budget,” an official with Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Nak-yon’s office told Reuters.
Digital screens showing precautions against the coronavirus are seen in a subway train in Goyang, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. South Korea is shutting down indoor gyms offering intense workout classes and banning year-end parties at hotels in the greater Seoul area to fight the virus. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Sunday. The banner reads: “People who do not wear masks in public will face a 100,000 won ($90) fine”. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Digital screens showing precautions against the coronavirus are seen in a subway train in Goyang, South Korea, Monday. South Korea is shutting down indoor gyms offering intense workout classes and banning year-end parties at hotels in the greater Seoul area to fight the virus. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Sunday. The banner reads: “People who do not wear masks in public will face a 100,000 won ($90) fine.” AP
South Korea is battling one of its largest waves of coronavirus infections yet, fueled by small outbreaks in the densely populated capital city of Seoul and surrounding areas.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency or KDCA reported 438 new coronavirus cases as of midnight Sunday, bringing the country’s total to 34,201 cases and 526 deaths.
The government’s current vaccine purchase plan puts it well ahead of a World Health Organization goal for the early purchase of supplies for 20% of most vulnerable people, and the minimum of 40% agreed by European Union nations, Britain and EU partners for their populations.
Korean authorities have said they are not in a rush to procure large numbers of vaccines quickly because the country has succeeded in keeping infection rates at controllable levels, preferring to wait and see which vaccines worked best.
Securing more vaccines of different types is also necessary because their safety has yet to be guaranteed, the KDCA said on Monday.
The KDCA has said they do not expect to start vaccinating the public until the second quarter of 2021.
The Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials said that as of Monday 3,500 people have pre-registered to participate in clinical trials for coronavirus experimental vaccines and treatment drugs, though a smaller number will be selected to participate.
Under the current plan, the government has secured a third of the needed doses via the COVAX facility, an international Covid-19 vaccine allocation platform co-led by the WHO, with the remaining doses purchased from private companies.
