SEOUL: A shipment of coronavirus vaccines to North Korea via the global COVAX sharing programme that was expected for late May has been delayed again amid protracted consultations, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Tuesday (Jun 1).
COVAX, which secures vaccines for poor countries, has said it will provide nearly 2 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to North Korea.
Advertisement
Advertisement
North Korea was expected to receive the first batch of the shipment in late May but discussions are still underway, said an official at the ministry, which handles North Korea affairs.
“Countries that want COVAX support are required to hold various consultations and submit some documents including an inoculation plan,” the official said.
“But in North Korea’s case, such consultations have been prolonged and it appears that the shipment will be made later than initially planned.”
READ: US debates fairest way to share spare COVID-19 vaccines
Advertisement
Advertisement
Insular and secretive North Korea has not commented on any consultations on vaccines. It has not officially confirmed any COVID-19 infections, although Seoul officials have said an outbreak there cannot be ruled out as the North had trade and people-to-people exchanges with China before closing its border early last year.
The GAVI alliance, which co-leads COVAX with the World Health Organization (WHO), did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But it told Reuters last month that shipments have not been made to North Korea due to its lack of “technical preparedness” and global supply shortages but could be expected later this year.
In a statement last week to the ongoing WHO annual assembly, North Korea accused unspecified countries of dominating vaccine supplies and causing a global “bottleneck” due to “national egoism.”
“Some countries are procuring and storing the vaccines more than their needs … when other countries can’t even procure it,” it said.
Advertisement
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Aw, this was an extremely nice post. Spending some time and actual effort to
produce a very good article… but what can I say… I put things off
a lot and never manage to get anything done.
I’m really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one today..
10 Things Everybody Has To Say About Porn Star porn