S. Korea urges rapid vaccine supply during protest visit to Moderna

South Korea has asked Moderna to speed up its delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Seoul in accordance with a prior contract, reported The Korea Herald.

The request was made during a South Korean government delegation's visit to Moderna headquarters in Massachusetts on Friday.

It came after Moderna notified Seoul that it plans to supply less than half of the 8.5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine planned for August.

Vice health minister Kang Do-tae, who leads the South Korean delegation, said he protested Moderna's delayed vaccine supply to company executives and discussed countermeasures.

"The South Korean government expressed regrets, and Moderna expressed an apology. We asked for a faster supply of a larger quantity of COVID-19 vaccines and Moderna agreed to do its best," Kang said.

Asked about any specific supply schedule, Kang said he requested that the delivery be advanced as early as possible, and that additional discussions would be held with Moderna over the supply schedule.