Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum (second from right) visits Samsung Biologics’ facility in Songdo, Incheon, Friday. The company is responsible for the fill-and-finish process for hundreds of millions of doses of Moderna’s messenger RNA vaccine for COVID-19. (Yonhap)
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum visited Samsung Biologics’ headquarters in Incheon on Friday but remained silent on how many doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine the company would make available for use in South Korea.
During his visit Kim checked Samsung Biologics’ facility, where hundreds of millions of doses of the Moderna vaccine will be manufactured starting this month. Despite being produced here, the vaccine is destined for overseas markets.
But as Moderna struggles to fulfill vaccine orders, the government is negotiating with the US drugmaker to prioritize Korea.
The prime minister’s visit received nationwide attention, with many asking whether the government had managed to reach a consensus with Moderna, but Kim isn’t giving out any details.
“I express my gratitude for Samsung Biologics’ staff and executives for providing support in many ways amid the pandemic. (Samsung Biologics’) partnership with Moderna will make (Korea) the hub of global vaccine supplies,” Kim said at the event.
Moderna has until Sunday to deliver 4.98 million doses of the vaccine to Korea, which aims to give first shots to at least 70 percent of its population before Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving.
Earlier last month, delayed shipments of the Moderna vaccine forced Korea to widen the interval between shots to six weeks instead of the recommended four.
