Moderna to increase vaccine supply to Korea in coming months

Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae speaks during a briefing at the Sejong Government Complex, Tuesday, on the outcomes of the meeting with executives from Moderna, during the government delegation's visit to the drug firm's U.S. headquarters, Aug. 13. Yonhap

Critics say US firm's plan lacks details such as schedules, amounts

By Lee Hyo-jin

Moderna will increase its supply of COVID-19 vaccine this month and September, and make every effort to speed up the planned delivery of doses for next month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday.

The U.S. pharmaceutical company will inform the ministry about specific shipment dates and amounts by the end of the week, the ministry added.

This agreement was reached during a meeting between a government delegation and Moderna officials at the drug firm's headquarters in Massachusetts, Aug. 13 (local time). The delegation, led by Vice Health Minister Kang Do-tae, made the visit to deliver a protest on supply setbacks and discuss ways to resolve delayed vaccine shipments.

Earlier last week, Moderna notified the health authorities here that it would ship less than half of the 8.5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine scheduled for August, due to production-related problems.

“The Moderna representatives apologized for causing disruptions to the Korean government and public due to its supply issues. They also said that they will to do their best to expand the supply in the coming months and speed up the shipments earlier than scheduled,” said Kang at a briefing on the outcome of the visit.

According to the health ministry, the meeting was participated in by eight senior Moderna representatives, including Chief Commercial Officer Corrine Le Goff, Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton, and Senior Vice President of International Manufacturing Nicolas Chornet.

During the meeting, Kang expressed strong regrets over the sudden supply delay, which he said damaged the firm's credibility and reputation, while causing disruptions to the country's vaccination schedule, and thus leading to public confusion.

An individual receives a coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Dongjak District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

He also stressed the importance of having a stable supply in the third quarter in order to restore trust between the two sides.

The Moderna representatives, for their part, offered an apology to the government and Korean public for causing the disruptions.

“We hope to maintain a long-term partnership with Korea, and this meeting has been a chance to deepen our mutual understanding,” Le Goff was quoted as saying by the ministry.

But critics say that it remains to be seen whether Korea will be able to receive a steady supply of vaccine from Moderna. Of the 40 million doses the government has ordered from Moderna, the country has so far received 2.45 million doses, a mere 6 percent of the total.

“Other than a formal apology from Moderna, the announcement does not include any details such as dates, amounts or penalty clauses for supply delays. Such negotiations could have been made via phone calls,” Kim Woo-joo, a professor at Korea University Guro Hospital, told The Korea Times.

“The visit to the U.S. was meaningful in that the government is making every effort to resolve the supply issue, but such a trip would have been unnecessary if it had put more efforts into the early procurement of vaccines in advance,” he said.

Kim also questioned the feasibility of the government's goal to fully vaccinate 70 percent of the country's 52 million population by the end of October, saying, “Amid the ongoing global vaccine shortage, whether or not Korea will be able to receive all the secured doses in accordance with the schedule still remains uncertain.”