The Latest: South Korea to vaccine its 52M people for free

The Latest: South Korea to vaccine its 52M people for free

SeattlePI.com

Published

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s president says it’ll offer COVID-19 vaccinations to all its people free of charge in phases.

President Moon Jae-in made the comments in his New Year’s address on Monday. He has maintained an earlier government announcement that the inoculation will start from February.

South Korean officials have said they’ll have vaccines for 56 million people, an amount seemingly enough for the country’s 52 million people.

Who will get vaccinated first has not yet been decided but is likely to be people at long-term care centers and nurses and doctors.

After weeks of a resurgence, South Korea’s virus caseload has gradually slowed amid tough distancing rules that include a ban on social gatherings of five or more people. Earlier Monday, South Korea reported 451 new virus cases, the first time for its daily tally to come below 500 in 41 days. The country’s total stands at 69,114 with 1,140 deaths.

Moon says that “the end of a dark tunnel is finally coming in sight.” He says the government will make best efforts to further curb the ongoing outbreak.

___

THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— President-elect Joe Biden faces challenge in guiding America past the Trump era, but success on virus, economy may help

— China says experts from the World Health Organization are due to arrive Thursday for an investigation into the origins of the pandemic

— Doctor using a horse-drawn cart to reach patients in mountain villages worries lockdown in Ukraine came too late to help

— India took a regulatory shortcut for a homegrown vaccine, though there's scant evidence of its effectiveness

— Follow AP’s coverage at...

Full Article