Korea, US should promote 'vaccine partnership'

By Park Jin

The resurging coronavirus is wreaking havoc on a global scale. The U.S. records spiraling new infection cases exceeding 250,000 a day. The Republic of Korea had managed to keep the coronavirus eruption largely under control until recently. Due to the cold weather and perhaps slack containment however, the daily outbreaks of COVID-19 have been surpassing 1,000 since mid-December.

The resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many countries to race for the acquisition of vaccines to prevent the unbridled spread of the potentially fatal disease. The Trump administration expedited the development of high-tech vaccines, spearheaded by leading companies such as Pfizer and Moderna. President-elect Joe Biden has already committed to ensuring that at least 100 million Americans get vaccine shots within 100 days of his inauguration.

South Korea possesses competitive production capabilities for high-tech vaccine manufacturing, but has conspicuously fallen behind in securing vaccines. The country should upgrade its scientific and technological cooperation with the U.S. to forge a mutually beneficial vaccine partnership.

The U.S. would do well to facilitate Korea's late access to the vaccine supply while the latter can provide efficient vaccine production to the former. This will strengthen the alliance through mutual support and more effective treatment and prevention efforts in times of common adversity.

Led by its "K-quarantine" model, South Korea's quarantine measures have been successful to date compared to efforts in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Factors that made this possible include the dedicated sacrifices of medical personnel, wearing masks at all times, strict maintenance of personal hygiene, social distancing, partial closing down of schools and restricting public gatherings in crowded places.

Along with its advanced medical and public health system, Korea has developed the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) industry and its "sampling-testing-disposal" technology through the influenza A and MERS crises.

As an article in the American Review of Public Administration explains, broad epidemiological investigation, a centralized political structure, ample public health budget and a flexible fiscal management system helped Korea deal with the epidemic crisis. The public confidence in the need for the government to take action is also pointed out as a success factor for K-quarantine.

Nevertheless, Korea is also faced with challenges. Despite the government's continued efforts by elevating the social distancing level to level 2.5, the third wave of the pandemic which began in November has resulted in higher risks as cases have multiplied tenfold in December.

There are also concerns about the potential limitations of K-quarantine. The first concern is regarding the restriction of human rights in the process.

Critics point out that individuals are constrained in terms of their civil and political freedoms and rights in the process of broad epidemiological investigations and the government's strong legal and administrative central control authority.

The second concern has to do with economic recession. Starting from Dec. 5, Seoul implemented more stringent regulations, closing down most stores after 9 p.m. Businesses that are sought out by a large segment of the population are facing hardship. The unemployment rate is rising as well.

Thirdly, Korean policy has been focused on regulatory quarantine efforts, rather than treatment and prevention. There are growing voices among medical experts calling for a paradigm shift from a quarantine-centered system toward a treatment and prevention-centered system through vaccines.

Compared to the U.S., Europe, and Japan, Korea's vaccination plan is still in its formative stages. The Korean government has signed a supply contract with the British company AstraZeneca to vaccinate 10 million people out of its 51.78 million population.

The government plan is to start acquiring new coronavirus vaccines in the first quarter of next year although it is reportedly known that the contract does not specify the supply date. Also the vaccine needs to be approved by the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and/or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Other than that, Korea is in the process of concluding purchase agreements with the COVAX Facility, Pfizer and Moderna for doses covering 10 million people each, and with Janssen for 4 million people. The exact timeframe for introducing these vaccines has not been confirmed yet.

In the early stage of COVID-19, Korea provided emergency support to the U.S. government's medical front-lines by sending 2 million face masks. Korea also shared its quarantine experience with the U.S. during the election season. Now, the two countries ought to move beyond information sharing and quarantine, toward pursuing a new objective involving treatment and prevention through the rapid development and distribution of vaccines.

Korean biopharmaceutical companies are evaluated to have the competitiveness needed to manufacture all types of vaccines currently under development throughout the world. Korea and the U.S. should agree on "vaccine swap" to help each other.

In the longer term, mass production of the vaccines developed in the U.S. will require not only domestic but also offshore production sites. Korea has the potential to become a strong partner with its advanced facilities and competitiveness meeting global standards.

In the short term, the U.S. should seriously consider supporting the timely supply of vaccines to Korea which urgently needs to secure the minimum necessary amount of authorized and safe vaccines. They will be distributed first to senior citizens, medical personnel, patients with chronic diseases, employees at infirmaries and welfare facilities, firefighters, police and military personnel before inoculating the whole population.

This will introduce the new "Korea-U.S. vaccine partnership" which will ensure the safety of the American as well as Korean people and enhance the spirit of the alliance.

Park Jin (parkjin916@naver.com) is a lawmaker of the opposition People Power Party. He chairs the party's special committee on diplomacy and security and previously served as president of the Korea-America Association.