RESERVATIONS ON JANSSEN VACCINES

[Anchor Lead]

Reservations for Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine opened Tuesday and some 900,000 slots were fully booked in just one day. Competition was high as tens of thousands of people were on the waiting list.

[Pkg]

In just 2 minutes after reservations opened, 30-thousand people scrambled to apply for a shot. Around 3.7 million military personnel aged 30 to 60 including reserved forces and civil defense members can receive the Janssen vaccine. Just over one million doses have been donated by the U.S.. They will be administered on a first-come first-serve basis, leading to the heated competition. The first 800-thousand reservation spots ran out in just 15 and a half hours and the other 100-thousand in 90 minutes. Unlike other vaccines, Janssen is a one-shot regimen. Many young people, who need to wait longer for their vaccine eligibility, want to get vaccinated quickly.

[Soundbite] Lee Dong-hun(33 (Makes reservation for Janssen vaccine)) : "My child was born in April and I have many business trips. I’m relieved to have reserved a shot."

Due to an administrative error, some 400 people who were eligible for the Janssen shot in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo-gu district were omitted from the reservation system. Applicants had to wait 2 to 3 hours at night for the system to be restored.

[Soundbite] (Surnamed Nam(37)) : "I was looking forward to it but I couldn’t get through the system."

Regarding calls that the one-shot Janssen vaccine has lower efficacy than other vaccines, health authorities assured its safety and protection rate.

[Soundbite] Kim Ki-nam(Vaccination Task Force) : "Janssen is known to offer over 85% prevention of serious symptoms and according to some studies, better protects against the Brazilian variant than other vaccines."

Officials are setting up a system to allow further reservations for so-called leftover or “no show” vaccines, which can be found through Naver and Kakao mobile apps.