SEOUL—South Korea said 18,489 people received their first doses of AstraZeneca PLC’s vaccine by midnight on Friday as it launched an ambitious COVID-19 inoculation campaign, and will begin using Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines on Saturday.
The first to receive the shots are healthcare workers, staffers at assisted care facilities and other high-risk people, with a goal of vaccinating 32 million to 36 million people – some 60% to 70% of the population – by September.
The government hopes to reach herd immunity, defined as at least a 70% vaccine take-up, by November, as health authorities remain on alert for signs of sporadic infections.
The first AstraZeneca vaccines are to be adm…
Keep on reading: South Korea vaccinates 18,000 to start ambitious Covid-19 campaign