South Korea’s military started their COVID vaccine rollout Wednesday as health care workers at major military hospitals -- about 2,400 doctors, nurses and technicians -- lined up to receive AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines.

The vaccination was the first for the military, though some Korean soldiers working for the US military stationed here received inoculations two months ago. More medical personnel working at bases nationwide will get the shots in stages, the military said.

But the service members were not able to choose which vaccine they received, as has been the case for inoculations for the general public.

Meanwhile, the military reported four new COVID cases -- two officers and two soldiers -- bringing the tally to 583. Eighteen patients are still in hospital while the rest have recovered from the disease.

Most of the COVID-19 tests of some 130 individuals linked to an outbreak at the military headquarters in Yongsan a month earlier have come back negative.

“We will do our best to see the inoculations go as planned,” Defense Minister Suh Wook said. “We won’t let our guard down while we see to it.”

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)