SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that the country potentially secured additional COVID-19 vaccines for 20 million people from U.S. pharmaceutical firm Novavax.
Moon made the remark during his tour to the COVID-19 vaccine production plant of SK Bioscience, a pharmaceutical unit of SK Group in Andong, North Gyeongsang province, about 270 km southeast of Seoul.
"A possibility has opened (for South Korea) to additionally secure vaccines for 20 million people in addition to the already secured doses for 56 million people as Novavax and SK Bioscience have recently pursued a (purchase) deal," Moon said.
Moon noted that the Novavax-SK deal will have a special meaning as it involves the technology transfer as well as the consignment production, forecasting that it will play a big role in advancing the development of the country's homegrown vaccine.
SK Bioscience has been currently negotiating with Novavax to purchase the U.S. drug maker's vaccines and receive its vaccine technology, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
After the technology transfer deal is signed and SK Bioscience starts to produce vaccines at its plant, the government will purchase the vaccines, manufactured in the SK facility, and supply them domestically, the KDCA said.
SK separately signed a consignment manufacturing agreement with AstraZeneca last year.
South Korea had secured COVID-19 vaccine doses for 56 million people, including doses for 10 million each from AstraZeneca and Pfizer, 20 million from Moderna, six million from Janssen and 10 million from the COVAX facility led by the World Health Organization (WHO).
President Moon vowed to offer COVID-19 vaccines to all of the country's 52 million population free of charge from February, aiming to almost completely form a herd immunity no later than November. Enditem
