SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea on Monday said it would not use AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine on people aged 65 and over, reversing an earlier decision and scaling back initial vaccination targets due to delayed shipments of the global vaccination scheme COVAX .
South Korea said it would complete vaccinations on 1.3 million people with AstraZeneca shots by the first quarter of this year, but it sharply cut the target to 750,000.
The decision is largely due to adjustments in the supply schedule of COVAX’s 2.6 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, the Korea Disease Control & Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Monday.
No production issues were mentioned in Europe for the delayed schedule it put to administrative processes at COVAX, and reiterated that its plan to achieve herd immunity by November remains in line.
“We do not believe that the adjustments to the vaccinations in February and March will affect our goal of herd immunity by November,” KDCA Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said at a briefing.
South Korea also reversed its previous plan to use the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it would delay vaccination of the elderly with the shot until more efficacy data became available.
South Korean authorities said last week that they would grant their first approval for a coronavirus vaccine to AstraZeneca and that it would allow its use in the elderly, despite warnings from advisory panels about a lack of data on its efficacy in elderly patients .
Several European countries have warned that AstraZeneca / Oxford University should only give to those aged 18 to 64, but the company said it is causing a good immune response in older people.
South Korea’s first vaccinations will begin on February 26, with health workers and vulnerable residents, including the elderly, being the first in line.
Reporting by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith; Edited by Miyoung Kim and Alex Richardson