The Government is opposed to criticism of its immunization program, which is seen as being too slow.
South Korean officials are stepping up efforts to launch a public coronavirus vaccination program as the country revealed Monday that it has found the first cases of the virus variant linked to the rapid rise in cases in Britain.
The new variant, which is expected to be more contagious than others currently circulating, was found in a family that arrived in South Korea from London on December 22, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. ) Monday.
All three have been on their own since conducting a positive test, a KDCA statement said.
The new strain of the virus appeared earlier this month in Britain and has reached several European countries, as well as Canada, Jordan and Japan.
It has forced more than 50 countries to ban travel on Britain, including South Korea, which has banned flights from Britain until the end of the year.
In total, the KDCA reported 808 new cases as of midnight Sunday (03:00 GMT). The country reported a peak 1,241 diseases on Friday.
Authorities warned the fall could be the result of fewer tests carried out over the weekend and Christmas holidays and said on Sunday that they would extend social distance measures to in early January.
The South Korean government has faced domestic criticism over its plans to get vaccinated and distributed, calling for the first vaccines to begin in the first quarter of next year, months after places such as the United States and the European Union.
South Korea has tightened social pace measures and banned the collection of more than four in a bid to stem the spread of the virus [Jung Yeon-je /AFP]
The vaccination plan is angry at weakening support for President Moon Jae-in, whose disqualification rate has risen to a high of nearly 60 percent, the Realster pollster said Monday.
Regulators will shorten the time needed to approve vaccines and medications from an average of 180 days and as little as 40 days, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced Sunday.
An additional approval process for the circulation and sale of vaccines, which will usually take several months, will be shortened to about 20 days, the ministry said.
Medical workers and former residents will start receiving the vaccines in February and there are plans to speed up the general public, chief of staff Noh Young-min said Sunday.
“The government is doing what it can to move this period forward and it is also making progress,” he said.
South Korea has said it plans to buy enough doses to vaccinate 46 million people or more than 85 percent of the population.
Noh said authorities expected the South Korean population to reach the level of herd protection through the vaccines as soon or as fast as many other countries.
South Korea has reported a total of 57,680 coronavirus cases, with 819 deaths.