South Korea reviews AstraZeneca vaccine for elderly under rollout plan
Reuters
Published Jan 28, 2021 01:55AM ET
Updated Jan 28, 2021 02:46AM ET
By Sangmi Cha
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Thursday it would begin COVID-19 vaccinations for the general public in the third quarter but review the use of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)'s vaccine to the elderly because of limited efficacy data overseas.
Health authorities will expand vaccinations towards the second half of the year with an aim to reach herd immunity by November, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a news briefing.
Inoculations would begin in February starting with key groups, including around 50,000 medical workers in the front line of coronavirus treatment, the elderly and staff in nursing homes, Jeong said.
AstraZeneca denied media reports this week that its vaccine is not very effective for people over 65, saying a strong immune response to the vaccine had been shown in blood analysis of elderly trial participants.
South Korea plans to vaccinate a 1.3 million priority group in the first quarter and 9 million people over 65 years of age and remaining medical staff by the second quarter, followed by the general population starting in July.
The country has designated about 250 large indoor gyms and community halls nationwide to vaccinate people with Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) vaccines that require cold chain storage, an interior ministry official told reporters.
For inoculations using vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson’s Janseen which do not require ultra cold storage, authorities designated 13,317 hospitals and clinics nationwide.
South Korea has mobilised 57 military units as well as police and fire personnel to transport and escort the vaccines for distribution.
"We plan to revise the order of the immunisation plan depending on the situation of the time of COVID-19 transmission and the timeline of vaccine arrivals," Jeong said.
South Korea has secured 106 million doses to allow for coverage of 56 million people, more than the 52 million residents of the country.
It has deals with four drugmakers - AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, Moderna Inc and the World Health Organization-backed global COVAX scheme.
SK bioscience, a drugmaker unit of SK Chemicals, will manage the transport of the Pfizer, J&J (NYSE:JNJ) and AstraZeneca vaccines, Jeong said.
The KDCA reported 497 daily new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. The total number of infections reported in the country now stands at 76,926, with the death toll of 1,386.
Get The News You Want
Nearly half of infections in South Korea over the past year were caused by cluster infections emerging from specific close-knit groups, including religious facilities and nursing homes.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.