Will vaccination gather pace? MFDS approves 2.6 M doses

MFDS approves 2,203,000 doses of AZ’s vaccine on the 12th and 438,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine on the 13th

Vaccination in Korea is expected to speed up as a large number of COVID-19 vaccines have been approved national lot release.

 

Through the fast track review and approval system, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also (MFDS) approved the national lot release of AstraZeneca’s vaccine earlier than expected.

 

Since the 12th, as many as 2,640,000 doses were approved for lot release.

 

According to the MFDS on the 13th, 2,203,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by SK Bioscience were approved national lot release on the 12th.

 

This is even more than the 1,574,000 doses that were granted last February.

 

The approved vaccines will be used as booster shots and as first shots for older adults aged 65 to 75 who will start inoculations on the 27th.

 

As of 12:00 a.m.

 

on the 13th, the vaccination reservation rate of seniors aged 70 to 74 was 51.6%.

 

The 438,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine that arrived on the 12th were also immediately granted lot release on the 13th the next day.

 

The Pfizer vaccines are being given to seniors aged 75 or older.

 

Currently, only booster shots are being administered but the government will resume administration of the first dose from the end of this month.

 

The COVID-19 vaccines approved on the 12th and 13th are in total, 2,640,000 doses, which makes up about 40% of all the doses that were released until now.

 

In addition, 835,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Korea through the COVAX facility on the 13th.

 

These vaccines, which were imported vaccines manufactured in Italy, were granted emergency use as it was not yet approved in Korea.

 

These vaccines will be swiftly supplied as products approved for emergency use do not need to be reviewed for national lot release,

Vaccinations in Korea are expected to speed up with improved procurement.

 

By the first half of the year, the government plans to inoculate a total of 13 million people, mainly those in their 60s or older.

 

A total of 18.32 million doses will be brought to Korea during the first half of the year, which is sufficient for achieving the target.

 

As of 12:00 a.m.

 

on the 13th, the cumulative number of people who received their first shots was 3.71 million.

 

To enable faster vaccination, the MFDS has expedited the national lot release approval for vaccines.

 

For example, for initial approval, the first three lots manufactured are approved within 20 days, and those manufactured thereafter within 10 days, and products with the same lot number are approved within a day.

 

Through the national lot release system, the MFDS conducts one final quality test before biologics like vaccines are marketed.