PM warns against discrimination in COVID-19 vaccinations, pledges transparency

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday warned against any discrimination in administrating COVID-19 vaccines, pledging the government’s efforts to keep the upcoming national vaccination campaign fair and transparent.

“There shouldn’t be any discrimination based on the level of status, wealth disparity, nationality, sex or others when administering the vaccines,” the prime minister said during an interagency meeting on COVID-19 vaccines and treatment.

The remarks came as all eyes are on who will be the first to receive the vaccine shot in the runup to next month’s launch of a free national COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

A day earlier, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced a brief outline of the upcoming vaccination plan under which front-line medical workers will get the first vaccinations in late February, followed by the general public in the latter half of this year.

“The government will carry out the vaccination under the two principles of fairness and transparency,” the prime minister noted.

He added that the government will “fairly” determine the order of priority and timing of vaccinations, as well as the type of vaccines to be administrated, “thoroughly based on scientific grounds.”

The entire process of the vaccination campaign, starting from the purchase of vaccines through their transportation and storage to the management of the post-vaccination situation will be transparently open to the public in order to secure their trust, Chung also stated.

All necessary information on the vaccination plan, including the type of vaccine to be administered to each individual, as well as the place and time of the vaccine shots, will be promptly given as soon as it is available, he said, promising a “safe and systematic” implementation.