South Korea’s health ministry confirmed on Sunday that it has secured an order for 7.01 million doses of coronavirus vaccines from Moderna Inc. This is in addition to the 1.3 million Moderna doses that were delivered to South Korea earlier this month.
The 7.01 million dose top-up comes after the South Korean government requested a speed-up in delivery. This was in response to Moderna’s confirmation that it would only be able to deliver less than half the vaccines it shipped in August.
With the new shipment due to arrive in the first week of September, the South Korean health ministry has set a goal to innoculate 36 million people before the Sept. 20-22 Chuseok holiday.
In addition to its dealings with Moderna, South Korea is also in talks with the Romanian government over the possibility of closing a vaccine swap deal between the nations.
Currently, 50.4% of the South Korean population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 22.5% have been fully inoculated. The South Korean government is aiming to innoculate 70% of the population by September.
