South Korean President Moon Jae-in received AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday ahead of an overseas trip as the country began vaccinating more senior citizens and health workers in an effort to speed up its vaccination drive, Reuters reported .
Moon, 68, received the shot from a community clinic near his office in Seoul to prepare for a planned visit to the UK for a G7 summit in June.
Moon’s wife and nine assistants who will accompany him during the trip, including National Security Adviser Suh Hoon, have also been vaccinated, his office said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson invited South Korea, India and Australia to attend the summit as guests.
The South Korean government on Tuesday began inoculating nearly 300,000 people at nursing homes and nursing homes aged 65 and over, and medical workers there as it accelerated the vaccination campaign.
About 680,000 high-risk and critically ill health workers have been vaccinated since the campaign began in late February, according to the Korea Disease Control & Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Authorities aim to vaccinate nearly a quarter of the country’s 52 million residents by June and achieve herd immunity by November amid a third wave of Covid outbreaks.
The KDCA has allowed people carrying out an important public mission, such as a diplomatic or military task, to be vaccinated from this month.
The patients and employees of the care facilities will also get an AstraZeneca opportunity, the KDCA said, with about 77% of the 375,000 eligible agreeing.
Authorities reaffirmed on Monday that they had found no evidence of health risk, despite reports of blood clots among those receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe.
South Korea has approved this product for people 65 years and older after delaying its use for the age group, citing a lack of clinical data.
“I am prepared to get an AstraZeneca vaccine first if it helps people reassure them that they feel safe about participating in the campaign,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at a meeting on Tuesday.
The KDCA reported 346 new cases as of Monday, bringing the total case tax to 99,421, with 1,704 deaths.