Covid19 vaccine – South Korea signs deal with Pfizer for extra 40 million vaccines
South Korea said that it signed a contract with Pfizer Inc to purchase an additional 40 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine amid fears of spiking infections at home.
It added that it had secured a total 192 million doses of vaccines, including those from Moderna Inc, AstraZeneca PLC, Johnson & Johnson’s and Novavax.
“The government has acquired Covid-19 vaccines large enough to vaccinate approximately 100 million people…(which) is double the entire population of South Korea,” Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol told a briefing.
Nearly 2.2 million South Koreans out of a population of 52 million have received their first vaccine dose, bringing the vaccination rate to just above 4%. The government’s goal is to reach 70% by November.
