The last call is to be made by the hand of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). On Feb. 10, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) finalized the authorization on AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. The ministry included a warning for inoculating an age group over 65 that ‘the vaccination should be carefully considered for the specific age group.’

It was a clever decision. But also at the same time, now KDCA has to make the hard decision. In the afternoon of Feb. 15, KDCA announced the final inoculation plan including the vaccination for the elderly age group.

Initially, the government was planning to prioritize inoculating AstraZeneca’s vaccine on long-ter