Korea fights 'vaccine bias' in face of Moderna, Pfizer preference

Ruling DPK wants Samsung leader Lee to address Moderna vaccine shortage issue

By Baek Byung-yeul

Despite the country experiencing a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, there is an evasive atmosphere over having an AstraZeneca shot that is intensifying due to concerns that it may cause blood clots as a rare side effect.

Due to such concerns, some local hospitals have been discarding the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In July, the government limited the use of this vaccine to people over 50 years old ― from those over 30 ― because of concerns over the potential side effect, and as a result people want to be inoculated with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines that were developed using mRNA (mRNA) technology rather than traditional methods.

Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are also known to have a higher efficacy rate than the traditionally produced vaccines.

According to online vaccine booking platforms and local hospitals, Thursday, few people were looking for the leftovers of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but the Pfizer vaccines were exhausted in less than a minute.

“There are almost no reservations for the leftover AstraZeneca vaccine even though we posted they are available on online booking platforms. We think many people perceive that the AstraZeneca vaccine may cause side effects,” an official from a local hospital in Seoul said.

Data from a multiple-answer survey of 1,000 Koreans conducted by KSTAT Research from July 29 to Aug. 2 showed that respondents preferred the vaccine from Pfizer at 84.8 percent, followed by Moderna (83.6 percent), AstraZeneca (60.7 percent) and Janssen (57.6 percent).

As the number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 continues to spiral out of control due to the spread of the Delta variant and the vaccine shortage continues, widespread anger against the government is surfacing.

Older people are blaming the administration for not securing enough vaccines, while younger people who are becoming more susceptible to the new variant fear that their vaccination schedule could be disrupted even though the government said people between the ages of 18 and 49 are eligible for mRNA vaccines from Aug. 26 through Sep. 30.

The government had expected it could smoothly proceed with its vaccination schedule to achieve its aim of herd immunity by November this year, however, the plan has been disrupted as Moderna has halved its planned shipment for this month.

In response, the administration said it had immediately protested any delay, and was sending a delegation led by Second Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae to Moderna's headquarters in the U.S to urge shipments as agreed to.

Politicians have been calling for the head of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, to play a role in ensuring that the Moderna vaccine produced by the group's drug-manufacturing affiliate Samsung Biologics is made available for Koreans.

Democratic Party of Korea leader Song Young-gil previously told reporters that the government needs to push for active consultation between Moderna and Samsung Biologics so that vaccines produced in Korea can be used here. Song added that Lee, who will be released on parole Friday, should be given a role in addressing this issue.

As Moderna cited the reason for the delay in this month's shipment was due to laboratory testing operations, some observers believe that a supply of the Moderna vaccine manufactured by Samsung Biologics is likely to be distributed in Korea after negotiations. Samsung Biologics began manufacturing Moderna's vaccine at its plant here from the start of the third quarter.