Government struggling to quell outcry over late, insufficient vaccine procurement

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Tue, October 3, 2023 | 02:56

Health & Science

Government struggling to quell outcry over late, insufficient vaccine procurement

Posted : 2020-12-24 17:07

Updated : 2020-12-24 17:31

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speaks during a government meeting on its COVID-19 responses at the Government Complex in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

Government officials and the health authorities are striving to quell growing criticism of the Moon Jae-in administration's alleged failure in its COVID-19 vaccine procurement policy, presenting more specific plans on the purchase of vaccines and when vaccinations will start.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced Thursday the signing of deals with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen and Pfizer to buy COVID-19 vaccines, saying the government was aiming to start vaccinations in the second quarter of next year.

The announcement came at a time when the government has been facing criticism that the country is lagging behind other nations in securing sufficient vaccines due to what the opposition parties claim was the Moon administration's "miscalculation" of the situation.

Chung said the government will buy vaccine for 6 million people from Janssen and 10 million people from Pfizer.

"We have secured more Janssen vaccine compared to our initial plan for 4 million people," Chung said during a government meeting on its COVID-19 responses, noting that delivery and vaccinations will begin in the second quarter.

Chung added that Pfizer's vaccines will be shipped in the third quarter.

The latest contracts come after the government signed a deal with AstraZeneca in late November to purchase vaccine for 10 million people, with the shipment to take place around February and March.

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The government announced plans, Thursday, to buy vaccine for 6 million people from Janssen and 10 million people from Pfizer. / Yonhap

It remains to be seen, however, whether the announcement will remove criticism as the government has failed to secure a supply of Pfizer's vaccines within the first half of next year at a time when some other countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, have already begun vaccinations.

Chung said the government is mobilizing all possible means to move up the date of delivery of Pfizer's vaccines to the second quarter, but there seems to be little likelihood of it happening, considering the company's pre-purchase agreements with other countries.

A fresh controversy is also rising over the government's plan to begin vaccinations using Janssen's products as the company's global Phase 3 trial is still ongoing, with the interim data from the trial anticipated to be available by the end of January.

This is in contrast to the government's initial position that it was focusing more on the safety of vaccines.

"It is very important to clarify safety of COVID-19 vaccines as they have only been developed recently," Sohn Young-rae, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said during a media briefing, Wednesday, in an effort to refute criticism about the country's late supply. "We don't need to become the world's first to be vaccinated. I think it is a good thing that we will be able to monitor any possible problems associated with vaccines in other countries for one to two months."

Other uncertainties include a possible delay in the delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine as it has yet to be approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The authorities here said the AstraZeneca vaccine will be shipped in accordance with domestic procedures regardless of the FDA's approval, but public anxiety is growing over the product.

A recent survey showed Koreans believe early vaccination is more important than safety. According to the Realmeter survey, Thursday, 54.9 percent of Koreans said COVID-19 vaccinations should begin at the earliest possible date, while 41.1 percent said the safety of vaccines should be verified further before beginning inoculation.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the nation added 985 new infections, including 955 local cases, for Wednesday, raising the total caseload to 53,553. The daily number was down 105 from 1,090 identified Tuesday.

The KDCA said 17 more people had died from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 756.

jjh@ktimes.com