South Korea has reached a deal with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Janssen to acquire enough COVID-19 vaccines to give to 16 million people, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Thursday.

“We have closed a deal with Pfizer to deliver 20 million doses no later than July. We have also closed a deal with Janssen for the acquisition of 6 million doses -- 2 million doses more than the planned amount of 4 million doses, to arrive here by the second quarter of next year,” he told a government meeting.

Pfizer’s vaccine, developed jointly with BioNTech, requires two doses, while Janssen’s requires a single dose.

The prime minister went on, “Countries like the UK and the US have already started rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. These are countries that are in desperate need of the vaccines.”

But Korea will not inoculate its people unless it is certain the vaccines are truly safe and effective, he said.

“The government will closely monitor the situation in countries that are vaccinated ahead of us, and proceed as cautiously as possible.”

The prime minister’s remarks come as the government faced criticism over its belated moves in securing Korea’s share of COVID-19 vaccines. Korea expects the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccines it has purchased to arrive here by spring next year.

The Minister of Health and Welfare’s spokesperson Son Young-rae told a news briefing Wednesday that as the upcoming vaccines were developed in an unprecedented pace, safety issues were “hard to ignore.”

“It is rather fortunate that Korea will have the opportunity to avoid being the first to be vaccinated, and have the time to observe for a month or two,” he said.

But experts say vaccinations should begin as promptly as possible. 

“Korea should begin vaccinations against COVID-19 by Feb. 1 next year -- at the latest,” said the Korean Society of Health said in a recent statement.

“The timeline for vaccination should be clearly communicated by the government so that the public as well as the frontline workers know for how long the social distancing restrictions could last,” it said. 

“It is irresponsible for the government to say Korea can hold on for longer without the vaccines.”

Earlier this month the government announced it was negotiating a total of 44 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines with Pfizer, Janssen and Moderna, in addition to the 20 million doses prepurchased from AstraZeneca. 

The COVAX facility, a global initiative for fair vaccine access, will supply the country with vaccines for 10 million people.

Korea reported 985 more cases on Thursday, with the cumulative number of official cases now reaching 53,533. Seventeen more people died. The total death count stands at 756.

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)