UK, South Korea to swap over 1M coronavirus vaccines

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The UK and South Korea will share more than 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine with each other “to enhance rollout of life-saving jabs,” a government statement said Wednesday.

“The UK is sending over 1 million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines to the Republic of Korea to enhance their vaccination programme, with the first batch expected to arrive in the coming weeks,” the statement said.

By the end of 2021, South Korea “will return the same volume of doses to the UK, as the government continues with its vaccine rollout and the booster programme over the winter months.”

The swapping initiative will also help South Korea towards “hitting its target of administering a second dose to 70% of its population by the end of October.”

“By working closely with our friends in South Korea, this vaccine swap will maximise their rollout speed without having an impact on the UK’s vaccine programme,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.

He added: “Separately, we continue to deliver on our commitment to donate 100 million doses to nations around the world by June 2022 to ensure as many people across the world are as safe from COVID-19 as possible.”

“The Republic of Korea is a strategic partner for the UK and the sharing of one million vaccines benefits both countries as we help build resistance against COVID-19 and save lives,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.