GOVT'S VACCINATION PLANS

[Anchor Lead]

As of Thursday in South Korea, daily COVID-19 infection increased by 1,943 and 34.97 million South Korea have received the first jabs. It is expected 70 percent of South Korean people will have received at least one dose of the two-shot regimen by Friday. The government plans to raise the vaccination rate as high as possible before the chuseok holiday, saying a larger number of first dose recipients can lead to a slowdown in the coronavirus spread.

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​Some 34.97 million people have received their first jabs. That's about 68 percent of the population. According to the government, 70 percent of the population would have received at least their first shot by Friday if vaccinations move ahead at the current pace. It also predicted the nation will be able to achieve the goal of fully vaccinating 70 percent of the population earlier than the initial schedule of late October. When asked if reaching the 70 percent mark in first-round vaccinations will be meaningful when it is not possible to achieve herd immunity, authorities stressed that COVID-19 infections will decrease in proportion to an increase in vaccinated people.

[Soundbite] Sohn Young-rae(Central Disasters Management HQs) : "Transmissions can be prevented by about 70 percent. When more people are vaccinated, the coronavirus spread loses its potency."

The government is now emphasizing the importance of completing the two-dose regimen. As 98.5 percent of recent positive patients are confirmed to be infected with the Delta variant, receiving only the first-round jabs may not prevent transmissions and it is necessary to get fully vaccinated. Over the past two weeks, 92 percent of adult COVID-19 patients were unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated. The government believes the nation will be able to develop herd immunity, when at least 80 percent of grownups and 90 percent of the elderly are fully vaccinated.

[Soundbite] Jeon Hae-cheol(Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures HQs) : "To help the people return to pre-pandemic normalcy more quickly, we will work to raise the vaccination rate by shortening vaccination intervals and vaccinating more people."

It again asked citizens to book left-over vaccines before the Chuseok holiday, and get their shots as soon as possible as a surplus of vaccines are now available.