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A health worker under 30 receives a dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Daegu on Wednesday. (Yonhap News)

Administration of leftover doses of the AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccine appears likely to remain effectively on hold for the time being before resuming sometime in mid-July or later.

With reservation-based vaccinations for senior citizens completed and plans to focus on administration of second doses for now, the South Korean government is having designated healthcare institutions return any leftover vaccines to public health centers.

“When vials remain for second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, they are to be returned to public health centers, whereas remaining vials of the Janssen vaccine are to be used up [through leftover vaccine and other administration],” said Hong Jeong-ik, director of the COVID-19 vaccination response task force’s vaccination management team, on Wednesday.

“Since most of the reservation-based vaccinations have been completed, it will be difficult for people to make same-day reservations [for leftover doses] via social networking services,” Hong added.

“There will probably be one or two more days of leftover vaccine administration if we have leftover volumes of the Janssen vaccine,” he said.

Leftover vaccines are most likely to become available once again by mid-July or later. Based on the third quarter vaccination plan announced on July 17, the focus is to be on second doses between June 19 and the third week of July, following the completion of inoculations for senior citizens.

While some vaccines may end up leftover in the process, the amount is expected to be minimal. In early July, administration of first doses is to begin for those aged 60 to 74 who were not vaccinated in June — but with only around 100,000 people targeted for vaccination, the amount of leftover vaccines will also be small.

Large-scale administration of first doses by the designated private healthcare institutions capable of providing leftover vaccines is to resume in the last week of July when inoculation begins for South Korean residents in their 50s.

“We anticipate that same-day reservations for leftover vaccines will become available by July or later,” Hong said.

As of the start of Wednesday, a total of 2,462 people had received their first doses of leftover vaccines. The number of people who had received leftover AZ vaccines the day before amounted to just 111.

Out of that group, just 56 people had received their vaccinations through same-day reservations on social networking services rather than through the preliminary lists of potential recipients aged 60 and older that had been obtained by healthcare institutions.

By Choi Ha-yan, staff reporter

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