The President Of South Korea Receives The AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

Presiden Korea Selatan Moon Jae-in. (Wikimedia Commons/Blue House, Korea)

JAKARTA - South Korean President Moon Jae-in received the first dose of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, during the launch of a vaccination program for residents over 65 years of age, Tuesday, March 23.

President Moon was accompanied by First Lady Kim Jung-sook and nine officials of the Cheong Wa Dae or Blue House (South Korean Presidential Office) at the Jongno-gu public health center near the presidential complex in Seoul, reported Koreatimes.

This vaccination is preparation for South Korean President Moon ahead of the G-7 Countries Meeting which will be held in Cornwall, England next June. It is known, the AstraZeneca vaccine requires two injections at intervals of eight to 12 weeks.

South Korea had postponed the COVID-19 vaccination program with the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged 65 years and over, following the busy talk of safety issues and vaccine side effects.

Local health authorities stated earlier in the day that they had found no evidence to suggest a correlation between the vaccine and reports of blood clots.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has compiled a priority list of vaccine recipients. That allows for the exemption of President Moon Jae-in (68) First Lady Kim Jung-sook (66) and Cheong Wa Dae officials, including National Security Director Suh Hoon, for early inoculation considering the urgency of diplomacy.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in followed two leaders from other Asian countries who had already received the AstraZeneca vaccine. Thai PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha became the first person in Thailand to receive a COVID-19 vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday 16 March, after being delayed the previous week.

"Today I increased self-confidence for the general public. I am fine after the injection", Prayut told reporters at Government House.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang will be the first to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, at the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Taiwan, Monday, March 22. It is known that Taiwan received 117 thousand doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine earlier this month.

"I just finished getting the (AstraZeneca) injection, there is no pain at the injection site, and no pain in the body", said Taiwan Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang.