S. Korea reviews AstraZeneca vaccine, expands ban on gatherings

SEOUL • South Korea is reviewing AstraZeneca's request for approval of its vaccine, as it expands a ban on private gatherings of more than four people to the whole country, with daily cases topping over 1,000 in four days.

The country's drug safety ministry said it will aim to approve the British shot for emergency use in 40 days.

The approval would mark the first for the country, which has been grappling with a prolonged surge in infections during the latest wave that has led to a sharp increase in deaths.

South Korea signed a deal last month with AstraZeneca to secure 20 million doses of its vaccine, with the first shipment expected as early as this month.

It also has deals with three other drugmakers - Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, Moderna - and the global Covax initiative backed by the World Health Organisation.

South Korea has secured 106 million doses to allow for coverage of 56 million people, more than the 52 million residents of the country, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.

The authorities plan to start vaccinations next month, with health workers and vulnerable people first in line, but the government has been criticised for that schedule in the light of vaccinations under way in the United States and European Union.

The AstraZeneca shot is already approved in Britain, Argentina, El Salvador and India. It is cheaper and can be stored at fridge temperature, which makes it easier to transport and use than some rival shots, such as the one from Pfizer.

But the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been plagued by uncertainty about its most effective dosage ever since data published in November showed a half dose followed by a full dose had a 90 per cent success rate, while two full shots were 62 per cent effective.

In November, SK Bioscience, 98 per cent owned by SK Chemical, received regulatory approval to begin human clinical trials of AstraZeneca's experimental vaccine, having agreed in July to manufacture the shots to help the British company build global supplies.

South Korea reported 1,020 new coronavirus cases as of midnight on Sunday, bringing the total to 64,264 infections, with 981 deaths, according to the KDCA.

A ban on small private gatherings that was in place in the greater Seoul area was expanded nationwide until Jan 17. "The reason we have expanded the ban... across the country is because gathering of people itself is far more dangerous than a specific venue," Mr Jeong said.

The extended social distancing rules imposed on Seoul and neighbouring areas include curbs on churches, restaurants, cafes, ski resorts and other venues.

More than 60 per cent of South Korea's cases are from Seoul, Gyeonggi province and the city of Incheon, with mass cluster outbreaks centred on nursing homes and prisons.

REUTERS