COVID-19 VACCINATIONS TO BEGIN FRIDAY

[Anchor Lead]

Though South Korea is last in order in the OECD to roll out COVID-19 vaccines, vaccinations will finally begin from this week. The first round of AstraZeneca shots will be administered from 9 a.m. Friday and for this, transporting the vaccines will start Wednesday.

[Pkg]

This is a SK Bioscience factory located in Andong. The firm produces the AstraZeneca vaccine for the pharmaceutical giant here in Korea. The task of transporting the vaccines to inoculation centers begins Wednesday. Over five days through Sunday, 1.5 million doses enough for 750-thousand people will depart the Andong plant heading to a logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggido Province. From there, the vaccines will then be distributed to various types of medical institutions. Batches for public health clinics and nursing hospitals nationwide will be delivered from Thursday. The doses are scheduled to arrive within the day for most parts of the country with the exception of Ulleungdo Island. Authorities are asking facilities to administer the first shots within five days of arrival if possible. The first round of vaccinations will kick off at 9 a.m. Friday morning.

[Soundbite] Jung Eun-kyeong(KDCA Director) : "Medical institutions in charge of vaccinations at nursing hospitals and senior care facilities must complete signing related contracts by this week and also carry out prior training."

Also starting this Thursday, the general public can verify through a portal website whether they are qualified for the first vaccinations by typing in their name and resident registration number. The system will also conduct post-vaccination management to more effectively log and monitor the inoculation rate and the vaccine supply volume.

[Soundbite] Jeon Hae-cheol(Minister of the Interior & Safety) : "The gov't will closely observe the post-vaccination situation to responsibly respond to any possible abnormal reactions."

Authorities said that getting the shots is not mandatory and even if a person who refused to be vaccinated contracts COVID-19 later on, the individual won't be held accountable such as facing indemnity claims.