The first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is arriving in South Korea this Friday lunchtime.
Arirang s Jang Tae-hyun is at Incheon International Airport to tell us more about how things are going.
So, Tae-hyun, has the Pfizer vaccine arrived in South Korea? Hi Mark, the Pfizer vaccine is scheduled to arrive in the country at 10 minutes past 12, so any moment now. Through the COVAX facility, 117-thousand doses of the vaccine are coming.
Since people need two shots each, this batch will be enough for 58,500 people.
This batch coming through the COVAX facility is not part of the 13 million Pfizer vaccines that South Korea is buying directly from the company.
Medical staff in S Korea to get Pfizer vaccine starting Saturday arirang.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from arirang.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Medical staff in S Korea to get Pfizer vaccine starting Saturday arirang.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from arirang.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Our Jang Tae-hyun is on the line to tell us what decision they made.
Tae-hyun? Just half an hour ago, an independent panel, the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Advisory Committee, announced that they are putting off the decision on whether AstraZeneca can be administered to elderly people those over the age of 65.
They said that it can be given to those over the age of 18, but for those over 65, more data is needed.
It s the second panel in the country to evaluate this vaccine.
For a fair evaluation of its safety and efficacy, South Korea s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is getting reviews from three different expert groups.