SK INKS DEALS TO BUY VACCINES FROM JANSSEN, PFIZER

South Korea has signed deals with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen and Pfizer to purchase COVID-19 vaccines, with a goal of starting vaccinations in the second quarter of 2021, health authorities told Yonhap news agency.

The government will buy vaccines for 10 million people from Pfizer and 6 million from Janssen, which was up from its initial plan for 4 million people, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

It formally struck a purchase deal with AstraZeneca in late November and made an advance payment of 85 billion won ($77.6 million) in October to the World Health Organization's global vaccine project, known as COVAX.

The government plans to sign contracts next month with Moderna and COVAX to secure vaccines for 10 million people from each, the KDCA said. Vaccines by AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna require two shots for immunization, and Janssen's vaccine requires one shot.

The government has set a goal of securing vaccines for 44 million people, enough to cover 88 percent of the nation's population, but the purchase deals are expected to cover 46 million with increased supplies from Janssen.

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