Military to support logistics of COVID-19 vaccine rollout

The military will help the government with the delivery of coronavirus vaccines to the public set to begin next month, the defense ministry said Thursday.

According to the ministry’s policy plan for the new year, the government will set up a 41-member coronavirus vaccine logistics support team, comprised mostly of service members and headed by the Army’s Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Park Ju-Kyeong.

President Moon Jae-in said this week that the government will provide free-of-charge COVID-19 vaccines to all South Koreans starting in February.

“The actual delivery will be done using private infrastructure as much as possible. Which company will be in charge has yet to be decided,” an official told reporters.

The military’s main tasks will include escorting the vaccines from the airport to inoculation centers and dealing with contingencies, among other things, he said.

The government earlier said it has secured access to COVID-19 vaccines for 56 million people from four pharmaceutical companies and the World Health Organization’s global vaccine project, known as COVAX.

South Korea reported 401 new virus cases on Thursday, raising the total caseload to 73,918.