코로나 백신 내년 초 도입-접종시기 미정…노인-의료인 우선고려<br /><br />Starting with the big news of the day.<br />The South Korean government has secured pre-orders of COVID-19 vaccines from several sources.<br />While the timeline is to be decided, a team will be formed to make sure the overall vaccination process runs as smoothly as possible.<br />Kim Do-yeon has the details.<br />The South Korean government has secured enough vaccines for 44 million people after striking deals with a number of vaccine developers and from a global vaccine project.<br />On Tuesday, the Health Minister announced that as well as the doses for 10 million people from the COVAX Facility, the government has pre-ordered additional vaccines from four vaccine developers.<br />Those deals are... 20 million doses from AstraZeneca, 20 million from Pfizer, 4 million from Jassen, and 20 million from Moderna.<br />A total of 34 million people will be able to be vaccinated by those doses.<br />All together, roughly 88 percent of the total population of South Korea can be vaccinated.<br />The government also explained that it will be flexible when it starts to roll out vaccines but said it'll begin by March at the latest.<br />"We will begin preparations for COVID-19 vaccines. We expect many obstacles along the way due to the COVID-19 vaccines requiring complicated storage conditions and having short expiration dates. The government will start the preparation process regardless of when it starts."<br />He added there will be a new task force created for the vaccination process.<br />With the vaccines not yet developed completely, the government will make sure they are safe for use before distributing them.<br />The government says the plan is to have the most vulnerable, such as senior citizens, and front-line medical workers vaccinated first.<br />The minister also showed hopes for domestic COVID-19 treatments.<br />"In addition to COVID-19 vaccines, we may have some results for the approvals on multiple domestic treatments by the end of the year or at the latest... early next year."<br />South Korean pharmaceutical company Celltrion has been waiting for emergency approval for its antibody treatment, which it claims effectively prevents mild COVID-19 patients from developing a severe case.<br />Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.<br />
