South Korea Starts Vaccination For Industrial Workers, Including Computer Chip Manufacturers

Illustration of the COVID-19 vaccination queue in South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/Rickinasia)

JAKARTA - South Korea launched a COVID-19 vaccination program for workers in the industrial sector, mainly computer chips and electronics, to minimize disruptions in global supply chains amid a struggle to harmonize its vaccination program.

A number of tech giants from China, including Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, Samsung Display Co., SK Hynix Inc., and LG Display Co., Ltd and their suppliers, began internal vaccinations for their employees on Tuesday, a company spokesman said. told Reuters.

The South Korean government approved the company's internal vaccination plan last month. The vaccination program will target more than 303,000 workers in around 40 companies with internal clinics, Yonhap News Agency reported.

South Korea's move comes amid a global chip shortage that has affected industrial manufacturers around the world, especially automakers. Meanwhile, Samsung and SK Hynix are the two top memory chip makers in the world.

As part of the vaccination program, Samsung, SK Hynix and LG Display said companies will use Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for their workers.

Illustration of the COVID-19 health protocol appeal in South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/Bonnielou2013)

Initially, Samsung and its affiliates planned to offer the Moderna vaccine. However, Yonhap reported a change in plans for using the vaccine to use Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, following supply and delivery problems.

Yesterday, vaccine manufacturer Moderna notified the South Korean Government regarding the issue of unspecified vaccine production, while consultations are being held to find out the details.

"Moderna has notified that there will be adjustments in the supply schedule due to production issues, and we are in discussions with them to confirm detailed plans for deliveries and volumes," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on Tuesday.

South Korea, which expanded its inoculation campaign to people in their 50s on Monday, had to switch to Pfizer's vaccine for some people in the group due to delivery delays.

Meanwhile, South Korea in total has a contract to supply 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna. So far, South Korea has received 1.1 million doses of the Moderna vaccine.

It is not yet clear what production problems Moderna is facing, and it is not clear how much supply was affected and for how long, including whether other countries were also affected by the situation. Moderna did not return a request for comment from Reuters

For information, South Korea reported 1,365 cases of the corona virus on Monday. Total infections across the country of 52 million people stood at 191,531 cases and 2,079 deaths, according to official data.

As for the COVID-19 vaccination program, South Korea has vaccinated nearly 34 percent of its 52 million population with at least one dose. In addition, 13.5 percent of the population has received full vaccination.