S. Korea signs deals to purchase vaccines form Janssen, Pfizer: PM

Under the contracts, it will bring in 6 million doses from Janssen and 10 million from Pfizer, Chung said during an interagency meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Initially, South Korea had planned to introduce 2 million doses of Janssen's vaccine. The government is scheduled to start offering shots of the vaccine in the second quarter of next year, he added.

The purchased doses of Pfizer's vaccine are scheduled to start arriving in South Korea in the third quarter of 2021, but the government is mobilizing all its resources to advance the shipment to the second quarter, Chung stressed.

The announcement came amid growing criticism here over the Moon Jae-in administration's vaccine procurement program. Critics argued that South Korea is lagging behind other nations in securing the supply of vaccines due to Moon's «miscalculation» of the situation.

Chung said, «The government will pay thorough attention to make sure that the public could be vaccinated as soon as possible, without any anxiety, while carefully studying the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines administered (overseas).»