GOVT’S VACCINATION PLAN

[Anchor Lead]

The daily infection tally in the nation has hovered around the 300 level for two consecutive days. With a plan to begin COVID-19 vaccinations next month and complete them by November, the government expects the nation to reach herd immunity before the next winter. The head of the International Vaccine Institute gave a very positive response to the scheme.

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Jerome Kim, director general of the International Vaccine Institute, predicted that the South Korean government will likely achieve its goal to complete COVID-19 vaccinations before November this year.

[Soundbite] JEROME KIM(DIRECTOR GENERAL, INT’L VACCINE INSTITUTE)

He also forecast that the nation will be able to administer the vaccines in a faster pace than other countries, based on its effective inoculation system and successful experience with flu shot distributions. Noting the nation’s efficient post-vaccination management, the IVI head expected South Korea will likely complete the vaccinations around a similar time to the U.S. where only three percent of the population have gotten vaccinated over the past month.

[Soundbite] JEROME KIM(DIRECTOR GENERAL, INT’L VACCINE INSTITUTE)

Kim recommended it would be better to reserve children as the last recipient group, since there is no information of clinical tests on them. Regarding the criticism that the South Korean government fell behind in an international competition to secure COVID-19 vaccines, he assessed Seoul was cautious while the U.S. invested tens of billions of won in developing vaccines, which were not proven safe.

[Soundbite] JEROME KIM(DIRECTOR GENERAL, INT’L VACCINE INSTITUTE)

The IVI director general predicted the COVID-19 pandemic will be brought under control between 2023 and 2024 after nearly all of the global population will have gotten vaccinated.