HONG NAM-KI ON VACCINATION PLANS

[Anchor Lead]

Acting Prime Minister and Finance chief announced the government has secured a sufficient amount of COVID-19 vaccines and laid the foundation for achieving herd immunity early. In a statement to the nation on Monday, Hong Nam-ki stressed the government plans to complete administering the first dose of vaccines to 70 percent of the population by late September and achieve herd immunity by November without fail.

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Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki reiterated that the government has secured a sufficient amount of COVID-19 vaccines and therefore, South Korea will reach herd immunity by November without a hitch. The nation has acquired 192 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including 40 million Pfizer vaccines it additionally purchased last week. Hong pointed that the amount is enough to inoculate 99 million people, three times more than the turning-point number of 36 million people for developing herd immunity. He then stressed that with these vaccines, the government has laid the foundation for achieving herd immunity earlier than planned.

[Soundbite] Hong Nam-ki(Acting Prime Minister) : "Through the purchase of more Pfizer vaccines, we are able to preemptively meet additional demand."

The acting prime minister also briefed about the government’s vaccine rollout schedules. Noting over 2.26 million people got vaccinated as of Sunday, Hong said that the government will inoculate 150,000 people each day this week and achieve the goal of vaccinating three million people by the end of this month. He announced the government’s plans to inoculate general people in full scale starting in May and expand vaccination centers to give shots to as many as 1.5 million people a day. Hong predicted more than 12 million people will receive jabs by the end of June when the government purchases more vaccines from Moderna and Janssen. He also said the government plans to complete giving the first dose of vaccines to 36 million people or 70 percent of the nation’s population by the end of September. Regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccines, Hong emphasized that AstraZeneca vaccines proved to be 100 percent effective and Pfizer vaccines 93.2 percent, based on the results of vaccinations for those aged 75 or above. He then asked the people to trust the government and take jabs when their turns are up. The acting prime minister also revealed that the government is reviewing measures, such as issuing e-vaccination certificates, to ease antivirus rules and allow a less socially-distanced life for vaccinated people this summer.