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SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in faced mounting public pressure on Wednesday (December 23) over his COVID-19 vaccine procurement plans as the country struggled to contain a third wave of the pandemic, reporting their second highest daily case count.
National media have criticized the government’s approach to securing newly developed COVID-19 vaccines as too lax and too reliant on locally produced injections, which will take longer than options abroad.
READ: South Korea orders ski resort closure and winter tourism to curb the spread of COVID-19
READ: Seoul To Ban Gatherings Of More Than 4 As South Korea Reports Daily Kills From COVID-19
According to a survey by research firm Realmeter, six out of 10 South Koreans believe that urgency should be prioritized over safety when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines and that inoculations should begin as soon as possible given the rapid increase in new cases. .
South Korea had 1,092 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the national count to 52,550, with 739 deaths, the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA) said. On Sunday the record of 1,097 cases was registered.
Late Tuesday, Moon’s office said a public vaccination program “would not start too late.” The government has previously said that vaccinations could begin as early as February.
Health authorities have expressed concern about public perceptions that the vaccination program is a global competition, emphasizing instead the importance of confirming the safety of vaccines.
The United States and the United Kingdom, which suffer from much higher cases and death rates, have no alternative to anti-virus measures other than vaccines, Son Young-rae, a senior health ministry official, said in a briefing. .
“These countries are somewhat inappropriate for us to take as teachers, and considering the security checks process, we believe there is no reason why we should be the first or second country in the world to receive vaccines,” Son said.
Meanwhile, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines for US military personnel stationed in South Korea will arrive on Thursday, the Yonhap news agency said, citing a military source.
Approximately 28,500 US soldiers are stationed in South Korea.
“We can confirm that USFK was one of the overseas locations identified to receive the Moderna vaccine through the Department of Defense’s deliberate and phased distribution plan,” Colonel Lee Peters, a spokesman for the US Forces, told Reuters. in Corea. “We cannot confirm any other details at this time.”
South Korea’s aggressive tracking and testing at the start of the pandemic had made the country a global success story, but the recent surge in cases has confused efforts to contain the virus.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Wednesday that authorities have so far secured around 8,000 of the 10,000 additional hospital beds for COVID-19 patients with the help of private hospitals.
Seoul and the surrounding areas have banned gatherings of more than four people from December 23 to January 3, and both restaurant owners and customers can face fines of up to 3 million won ($ 2,700) for violating the order. .
Authorities have also closed all winter resorts and resorts in an attempt to stop the spread over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
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