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| A group of 300 medical workers treating novel coronavirus patients started receiving the first batch of vaccines developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. in South Korea on Saturday, one day after the country kicked off a free vaccination campaign. Yonhap |
Three hundred medical workers treating COVID-19 patients here received the first batch of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine Saturday, one day after the country began its free nationwide vaccination campaign.
Doctors, nurses and other health professionals treating patients in the greater Seoul area were administered with their first shots of Pfizer's two-dose vaccine regimen at a state-run vaccination facility in central Seoul.
Health care workers and patients aged under 65 at long-term care facilities began receiving the first shots of the two-dose vaccine regimen developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University, Friday.
A total of 55,000 medical workers at hospitals treating COVID-19 patients will receive the Pfizer shots, which were delivered to Korea as part of the World Health Organization's global vaccine COVAX Facility project.
These will be administered at five state-run vaccination facilities in the greater Seoul area first as they require ultra-cold storage conditions. The authorities plan to erect 120 cold storage sites at general hospitals, gymnasiums and other state-run facilities nationwide.
The health authorities plan to complete inoculations with the first batch of Pfizer products by March 20.
Earlier, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will allow Pfizer vaccines to be transported and stored for up to two weeks at conventional freezer temperatures instead of in the ultra-cold conditions.
The drug safety authorities here, however, said they have not yet reviewed whether allowing the storing of the Pfizer vaccine at higher temperatures impacted its efficacy, citing that further data was needed.
Another 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine under a direct contract between the pharmaceutical firm and the Seoul government are expected to arrive here in the third quarter. (Yonhap)
