The government said it plans to stop using Moderna's monovalent Covid-19 vaccine from next month.

"The expiration date of the currently introduced Moderna's monovalent vaccine is Dec. 16, and we plan to stop using the vaccine in consideration of the public's demand," the Covid-19 vaccination response promotion team said. "There are no additional introduction plans for the monovalent vaccine."

As a result, Moderna's monovalent vaccine will not be available from Dec. 17.

Moderna's monovalent Covid-19 vaccine was introduced in Korea on June 1, 2021, and was initially used for priority vaccination for healthcare workers under the age of 30.

Afterward, the government expanded the vaccination target for Moderna's monovalent vaccine, with about 25 million vaccinations being administered.

However, with the recent emergence of various variants and the introduction of bivalent vaccines that respond to variant becoming, the average number of daily vaccinations with Moderna's monovalent vaccine has recently fallen to around 500.

The quarantine officials stressed that those who have reserved Moderna's monovalent Covid-19 vaccine vaccination after Dec. 17 will have to advance their vaccination period or change to another vaccine.

On Friday, Korea's daily Covid-19 cases made its first on-week drop in six weeks.

The country reported 49,418 new Covid-19 infections, including 66 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 26,462,319, the KDCA said.

The nation also added 63 more Covid-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 29,925. The number of critically ill patients stood at 365, down 15 from the previous day.

According to the KDCA, about 44.69 million among 52 million Koreans have been fully vaccinated. In addition, about 33.68 million people received their first booster shots, and 7.57 million had their second booster shots.