The government will soon supplement its immunization schedule, as Moderna has informed it of changes in its schedule to supply 40 million vaccine doses, officials said Tuesday.
"Recently, Moderna has notified us that they will have to adjust the supply schedule due to production disruption," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during a daily task force meeting. "We are currently discussing the specific and definitive introduction volume and date with Moderna."
Kim did not elaborate on the exact reason for the production disruption.
"Nevertheless, as promised, the government will complement its vaccination plan so that there will be no setbacks in achieving herd immunity by November and announce it soon," Kim said.
In December, the government signed a deal with Moderna to buy its 40 million vaccine shots to immunize 20 million people. The government planned to receive the batches from the second quarter of this year.
Despite Kim's assurance, the setback in the supply of Moderna's vaccine will likely affect the nation's vaccination plan in the second half-year as the government will have to change the schedule to vaccinate people in their 50s, which started on Monday. The government initially planned to vaccinate the age group with Moderna's vaccine but will switch to Pfizer vaccines.
The supply situation of other vaccines is also uncertain as 5,362,100 doses of vaccines remained in Korea -- 2,912,300 Pfizer shots, 1,367,300 AZ shots, and 1,082,500 Moderna shots -- on Monday.
Except for Pfizer, which the nation receives a set amount every week, the overall situation is hardly reassuring.
The government has vaccinated 17,516,422 people – 10,405,038 with the AstraZeneca vaccine, 5,643,660 with Pfizer's vaccine, 1,129,722 with Janssen's vaccine 338,002 with Moderna's vaccine – with the first shot of the vaccine up 617,251 from the previous day.
The figure accounts for 34.1 percent of the nation's population.
The supply disruption for the Covid-19 vaccine also comes at a time as authorities are still striving to stem the fourth viral wave.
To stem the spread of the virus, Korea extended the highest Level 4 distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area for another two weeks through Aug. 8. The toughest distancing restrictions ban gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m. and place a 10 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes and a ban on nightclubs and other entertainment venues.
The country also began enforcing Level 3 distancing restrictions in the non-capital areas Tuesday to better contain the virus during the summer holiday season.
Under Level 3, cafes and restaurants can accept customers until 10 p.m., and only takeout and delivery services are available after that time. In addition, private gatherings of more than five people are banned, while mass-gathering events can accommodate fewer than 50 people.
But some cities, including Daejeon and Gimhae, have adopted the Level 4 measures to better contain the spread of the virus in their regions.
Health authorities said department stores and large discount stores in areas under Level 3 or higher must keep QR code or phone number-based entry logs at their building entrances starting Friday.
The country added 1,365 Covid-19 cases, including 1,276 local infections, raising the total caseload to 191,531, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was up from 1,318 on Monday.
The daily caseload has remained above 1,000 for three weeks since July 7 due to the resurgence in the greater Seoul area. The coronavirus has been spreading across the nation with increased activities in the summer season and the fast rise of the highly contagious delta variant. Two more people died from the virus, raising the death toll to 2,079 with a fatality rate of 1.09 percent.