Health experts skeptical on COVID-19 vaccine procurement plans

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo speaks about Korea's vaccine procurement plans during a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap

Korea secures vaccines for 44 million people

By Lee Hyo-jin

Health experts have shown skepticism over the government's “belated” COVID-19 vaccine procurement plans, saying that the pre-purchased supply may be insufficient to form herd immunity.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Tuesday that it had secured enough supply of coronavirus vaccines for approximately 44 million people or roughly 85 percent of the population.

It has obtained 64 million doses available for 34 million people through separate contracts with four pharmaceutical companies ― 20 million doses each from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna ― requiring two doses per person ― and 4 million doses from Janssen.

Another 20 million doses to vaccinate 10 million people will be acquired through COVAX Facility, a multinational initiative aimed at developing and deploying COVID-19 vaccines.

The ministry has already signed a deal with AstraZeneca, and legally binding agreements with the other three companies, with which it will soon sign contracts. The pre-purchased vaccines are expected to be gradually delivered ― with the first doses from AstraZeneca ― from February 2021.

“We will acquire more vaccines than our earlier goal, which aimed for 60 percent of the population. With the vaccines and domestic treatments that will be commercialized early next year, we hope to establish a stronger antivirus model,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said at a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul.

Health experts, however, were skeptical about the procurement plans. They say Korea is only falling behind in the global COVID-19 vaccine race.

“While we are discussing procurement plans here, Britain starts public vaccinations today and the U.S. is expected to begin next week,” Chun Eun-mi, a pulmonologist at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, told The Korea Times.

She also expressed concerns that vaccinating 44 million people would not be enough to form herd immunity, considering the differing efficacy rate of vaccines from each company. “This is why other countries such as Japan and Canada have aggressively obtained vaccines, up to even 10-times their population,” Chun said.

Kim Woo-joo, an infectious disease professor at Korea University Guro Hospital, pointed out the lack of detailed plans on when and how the vaccines will be distributed.

“There are important issues to be resolved such as cold chain logistics and storage problems. We must also consider how to decide who will get which shots from which manufacturer, as they differ in efficacy rates,” Kim said.

He said, ideally, Korea should begin vaccination within the first quarter of 2021 considering the public sentiment amid the prolonged pandemic.

The health ministry has not yet decided on a detailed schedule for public distribution, but it added that virus-vulnerable groups such as the elderly and patients with chronic illnesses, as well as healthcare workers will be prioritized.

Meanwhile, Korea reported 594 daily new infections for Monday including 566 local cases, bringing up the total caseload to 38,755, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).