South Korea's president under fire for vaccine strategies as COVID-19 cases surge
23 December, 2020
South Korean President Moon Jae-in faced growing public pressure about Wednesday (Dec 23) more than his COVID-19 vaccine procurement programs as the country struggled to include a third wave of the pandemic, reporting its second-highest daily tally of cases.
Domestic media has lambasted the government's method of securing newly developed COVID-19 vaccines as too relaxed and overly reliant on the subject of locally produced shots which will take more time than overseas options.
Regarding to a poll simply by research firm Realmeter, six in 10 South Koreans believe urgency should be prioritised over safety in terms of COVID-19 vaccines and that inoculations should get started as soon as possible given the rapid surge in new cases.
South Korea had 1,092 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, getting the national tally to 52,550, with 739 deaths, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Company (KDCA) said. The record of just one 1,097 cases was logged on Sunday.
Late on Tuesday, Moon's business office said a public inoculation programme would "not commence too late". The government has previously explained vaccinations could commence as soon as February.
Health authorities have expressed concern over public perceptions that view the vaccination program is a worldwide competition, emphasizing instead the importance of confirming the safety of the shots.
AMERICA and the United Kingdom, suffering higher cases and death rates, haven't any option to anti-virus measures other than the vaccines, Son Young-rae, a senior official at the health ministry, told a briefing.
"These countries are relatively inappropriate for all of us to have as teachers, and considering the procedure for safety checks, we believe there is absolutely no reason for all of us to be the world's first or second country to receive the vaccines," Son said.
Meanwhile, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines for the US military personnel stationed found in South Korea might arrive as early as Thursday, Yonhap news agency said, citing a military source.
Roughly 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea.
“We can concur that USFK was among the overseas locations identified to receive the Moderna vaccine through the Department of Defense’s deliberate and phased distribution program," Col Lee Peters, a US Forces Korea spokesman told Reuters. "We cannot confirm any other facts at the moment."
South Korea’s aggressive tracing and tests early found in the pandemic had made the united states a worldwide success story however the recent surge in cases has confounded work to support the virus.
Primary Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Wednesday that authorities have up to now secured around 8,000 of a targeted 10,000 additional hospital beds for COVID-19 patients with the aid of private hospitals.
Seoul and its surrounding areas have banned gatherings greater than four persons from Dec 23 to Jan 3, and both restaurant owners and patrons can confront 3 million won (US$2,700) found in fines for violation of the purchase.
Authorities have also turn off all ski resorts and winter season tourist spots in a good bid to avoid the spread through the Christmas and New 12 months holidays.
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