COVID-19 vaccines from US unavailable for young service members

By Lee Hyo-jin

The supply of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines offered by the United States to Korea, which is set to arrive later this week, may not meet its original purpose of inoculating military service members, due to the age restrictions for the vaccine.

During the Korea-U.S. summit in Washington, D.C., on May 21 (U.S. time), U.S. President Joe Biden made an announcement that his administration will provide Korean troops with enough vaccines for 550,000 people, with the details of when and which product to be decided later.

After conducting follow-up discussions with their U.S. counterpart, health authorities announced Sunday that the country will receive enough Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccines from the U.S. to vaccinate 1 million people ― nearly double the amount Washington initially offered.

The batches are scheduled to arrive later this week, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The ministry will take reservations among eligible recipients starting Tuesday, with inoculations set to roll out on June 10.

The Janssen vaccine was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety earlier in April, but it has not been administered in Korea yet. Upon approval, the drug regulator restricted its use on people aged 30 and under due to reports of possible side effects related to blood clotting in younger people.

Due to this age restriction, the government announced that the doses from the U.S. cannot be offered to most active service members here ― conscripts mainly in their 20s. Instead the vaccines will be offered to military-affiliated personnel, including civilians.

The decision negates the initial purpose of the vaccine offer. In the press conference after the summit, Biden said, “We'll provide full vaccinations for all 550,000 of those Korean forces engaging with American forces on a regular basis, both for their sake, as well as the sake of the American forces."

The authorities will receive reservations from among the 538,000 reservists, 3.04 million civil defense corps and 137,000 individuals related to the country's military and foreign affairs. Family members of professional soldiers and reporters covering the Ministry of National Defense may also make a reservation if they meet the age requirements.

“We have included reservists and the civil defense corps in order to fulfill the purpose of the U.S. vaccine offer, and the fact that service members aged 30 or under are already scheduled to receive Pfizer vaccines has also been taken into consideration,” the health ministry said.

As of Sunday, 116,000 service members over age 30 have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to the defense ministry. Other members aged 30 or younger, who are estimated to be around 410,000 people, will be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine beginning next month, in accordance to the ministry's initial plan.

“It would have been better if the U.S. had offered to donate Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, as these could be used to cover military service members aged 30 or under,” said Professor Jeong Ki-seok from Hallym University Sacred Hospital.