South Korea approves 2.4m locally manufactured Moderna jabs for domestic use: Report

On Tuesday, South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare approved 2.4 million locally manufactured doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for domestic use. This is the first time Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has got approval in the country, according to a report by The Korea Herald. The report stated that this is the first batch to be used locally since Samsung Biologics, a Korean drugmaker, agreed to fill-and-finish manufacturing of the Moderna vaccine in May, as part of a package of four deals announced after President Moon Jae-in's visit to the United States. The fill-and-finish agreement entails the Korean pharmaceutical company handling the final stage of the production process, which involves placing bulk vaccines into vials and packaging them for shipment.

According to the ministry, the country's drug regulators approved the batch of vaccines developed locally for emergency use on Monday, October 25, which varies from the approval provided to the imported batch. Following the SK Bioscience-manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine, Moderna's vaccine is the second COVID-19 vaccine that a Korean firm helped manufacture to be placed for domestic use. Meanwhile, the Korean government has agreed to buy 40 million doses of Moderna's vaccine. Following AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, the two-dose mRNA vaccine became the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to be authorised in the country, reported the outlet. 

'35.94 million people have been fully vaccinated'

Meanwhile, on Saturday, October 23, South Korean authorities stated that they had reached their objective of vaccinating 70% of the population. They claimed that the country was able to meet its goal ahead of schedule time. A total of 35.94 million people have been fully inoculated against COVID-19, reported ANI citing Yonhap news agency. According to Korea's Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the authorities in South Korea started vaccinating its citizens in the month of February. The country also intends to give relaxations in COVID-19 restrictions from November. 

Companies to resume face-to-face meetings

The authorities are also expected to make a decision on introducing booster shots in the country as they have not been started in South Korea. The firms in the country have also decided to resume face-to-face meetings and international business trips. Companies have opted to begin face-to-face meetings as the government prepares for a "phased recovery of daily life with COVID-19" beginning in November, reported ANI. 

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