North Korea has yet to begin coronavirus vaccinations as delays hamper U.N.-backed rollout
Source: Washington Post
Asia & Pacific
North Korea has yet to begin coronavirus vaccinations as delays hamper U.N.-backed rollout
North Korean soldiers stand at a rally in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Oct. 12. (Jon Chol Jin/AP)
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Min Joo Kim
Today at 3:14 a.m. EDT
TOKYO — The United Nations-backed global vaccination effort is offering additional doses of coronavirus vaccines to North Korea, one of a few countries yet to start inoculating residents after a delay in a distribution program slated to begin this summer.
The Gavi Alliance, part of the Covax initiative that aims to deliver vaccines to the world’s most vulnerable people, said last week that it has allocated nearly 3 million doses of the Chinese-made Sinovac coronavirus vaccine. The announcement came after plans to deliver nearly 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine were scrapped, amid North Korea’s apparent concerns about potential side effects and a supply shortage at an India-based distributor.
Efforts to provide vaccines to North Korea have reached a bottleneck in recent months. Pyongyang requested vaccine access from Gavi in December, but no doses have been shipped.
[North Korea’s Kim warns of ‘grave incident’ in fight against the coronavirus] (1)
It is unclear whether the nation of 25 million will accept the latest offer, said Edwin Ceniza Salvador, the World Health Organization’s representative to North Korea, in a statement. The new allocation was first reported by NK News and Radio Free Asia.
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By Michelle Lee
Michelle Ye Hee Lee is a reporter on The Washington Post's foreign desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/myhlee
By Min Joo Kim
Min Joo Kim is a reporter for The Washington Post in Seoul. She covers news from South and North Korea. Twitter https://twitter.com/Min_Joo_Kim_
(1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/northkorea-coronavirus-covid-crisis/2021/06/29/b35dfd36-d93a-11eb-8c87-ad6f27918c78_story.html
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-korea-vaccine-delay/2021/08/24/fdf1b054-031a-11ec-825d-01701f9ded64_story.html
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