<Anchor> The



government announced that it has signed an additional 23 million people with Pfizer and NovaVax vaccines combined.

500,000 Pfizer vaccines will be introduced next month first.



Reporter Choi Ho-won.



<Reporter> The



additional vaccines that the government has signed are 3 million Pfizer vaccines and 20 million NovaVax vaccines.



As a result, the number of vaccines secured by Korea has increased to 79 million, including the existing 56 million.



[Sae-Kyun Jeong/Prime Minister: The government has tried to introduce sufficient quantities as early as possible so that the public can receive the vaccine with confidence, with the aim of forming a group immunity at the end of November.] In



the case of 3 million Pfizer vaccines, the head office and the head office

have been working

directly. This is the contracted quantity, and if we add up to the 10 million people we decided to receive from the third quarter, the total is 13 million people.



In consultation with Pfizer, the government decided to accelerate the overall supply period.



First, at the end of next month, 500,000 people will be supplied first, and an additional 3 million people will be introduced in the third quarter.



Separately, the government is promoting the introduction of 60,000 Pfizer vaccines through the international vaccine purchasing organization Kovacs Facility.



NovaVax vaccine, which has been confirmed to be introduced for 20 million people, is being produced on consignment in Korea, and as a result of a phase 3 clinical trial completed in the UK, it showed a preventive effect of 89.3%.



In particular, it is expected to be helpful in the domestic elderly vaccination plan if the effect is confirmed to be sufficient even in the elderly over 65 years of age.



In addition, NovaVax has also signed a technology transfer contract with a domestic pharmaceutical company for its synthetic antigen vaccine.



Before these vaccines come in, the government will first receive a domestically consigned AstraZeneca vaccine and start vaccination for those under the age of 65, excluding the elderly.