The government has announced that it has signed a contract to purchase a COVID-19 vaccine with global pharmaceutical companies Janssen and Pfizer.



Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun announced that the same Corona 19 vaccine purchase contract was signed yesterday (23rd) at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters held at the Seoul Government Complex.



Prime Minister Chung said, "In the case of Janssen, he signed a contract for 6 million people, which is more than the originally planned amount of 2 million people," and said, "We will start vaccination in the second quarter of next year."



Regarding Pfizer's vaccine, he said, "We have signed a contract for 10 million people, and it will be available from the third quarter of next year."



Prime Minister Chung said, "Vaccination has begun in various countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States," and "most of them are countries where vaccines are desperate."



Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "The government will first take a closer look at whether the vaccination is actually safe and whether it is effective enough to ensure that the people receive the vaccination as soon as possible with confidence."



Prime Minister Jung emphasized that although the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the legal authority to purchase vaccines, the government is committed to taking responsibility for the vaccine.



Prime Minister Chung said that the Christmas holiday will begin tomorrow, but this year, for the sake of health and safety, he urged him to reduce travel and meet with him later.



(Photo = Yonhap News)