The South Korean health authority is fully readying for COVID-19 vaccination starting off from February as they have first secured the budget for the vaccine purchase and expenditure for inoculation.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on Jan. 12 the vaccine purchasing budget and inoculation expense budget of 857.1 billion won and 38 billion won have been allocated, respectively, through first and second budget request.

KDCA first received 857.1 billion won to purchase globally developed vaccine, which would sequentially cover the upfront payment for Moderna vaccine and payments for the other vaccine supply deals. The health authority plans to continue seek