Covid-19: How to explain South Korea's delay in vaccination?
A doctor gets vaccinated under the watchful eye of President Moon Jae-in on February 26, 2021. REUTERS - YONHAP NEWS AGENCY
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South Korea is the last OECD state, this Friday, to launch its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus.
An astonishing delay whereas with only 88,000 cases for 51 million inhabitants and still no containment, the country serves as a model in terms of epidemic management.
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With our correspondent in Seoul,
Nicolas Rocca
The South Koreans had to wait before having the right, too, to the image of their first vaccine under the crackling of cameras and the gaze of President Moon Jae-in.
The opposition wanted the head of state to be the first to receive the injection, a symbol of the population's mistrust of this late vaccination campaign.
But this delay can be explained, according to Anh Wartel, researcher at the Seoul International Vaccine Institute: “
They wanted to encourage some vaccine developers in Korea first by having a number of vaccines that could be produced in Korea.
"
Ambitious goal
National priority without result for the moment since there is no vaccine stamped Korea.
It was therefore necessary to order doses.
But controlling the outbreak reduced the sense of urgency about the serum.
“
Now they've taken over.
Certainly, perhaps late, compared to other countries,
concedes
Anh Wartel.
However, this must also be seen in the context of the delay of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
If you look at the number of doses they have committed to deliver, there has nevertheless been a fairly significant reduction in the number of doses available for the whole world, not just for Korea ”.
Now launched, this campaign focuses first on
health professionals under 65
, will follow other exposed professions and people at risk.
With the very ambitious goal posted by the government to achieve collective immunity in the fall.
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