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Reuters Kim Hong-Ji
The Agency for Disease Control and Prevention in South Korea said today, Monday, that it recorded the first cases of the new Corona virus, which was discovered in Britain and transmitted to a number of countries.
The agency said that it detected the most contagious strain, including other strains of the current virus, in three individuals who arrived in South Korea from London on December 22.
The officials pledged to accelerate the launch of a general vaccination program against the Corona virus.
The government is facing increasing internal pressure regarding plans to purchase and offer vaccines, especially as it has set the first quarter of next year as the date for the start of the vaccination campaign, months after countries such as the United States and countries from the European Union began that preventive measure.
On Sunday, the government announced that regulatory bodies will reduce the time required to approve vaccines and drugs from an average of 180 days to just 40. She said that the time required to approve the distribution and sale of vaccines will be reduced to about 20 days, from several months normally.
Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Yong-min said yesterday that the authorities will start in February vaccinating medical workers and the elderly, with the rest of the citizens to follow.
“The government is doing its best to advance that date and it is making progress,” he added.
South Korea plans to buy enough doses of vaccines to vaccinate 46 million, or more than 85 percent of its citizens.
Meanwhile, the Korean centers recorded 808 new cases of corona as of midnight Sunday, the lowest number since Friday’s record of 1,241.
The death toll from the virus in South Korea rose to 57,680, and the total number of deaths reached 819 cases so far.
Source: Reuters
