S. Korea to shorten approval process to help develop coronavirus vaccine, treatment

SEOUL, April 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Friday it will shorten an approval process later this month for clinical trials and research for experimental vaccines and treatment to combat the novel coronavirus.

Under the move, an approval process will be shortened to less than a week from the current one or two months, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said.

If possible, an approval process will be exempted for fast-track developments of vaccines and treatment, Park said.

The move came after South Korea held its first meeting of a pan-government task force to help develop coronavirus vaccines and treatment earlier in the day.

The task force will unveil comprehensive plans for coronavirus vaccines and treatment in early June, officials said.

Scientists worldwide are scrambling to find a vaccine against the highly contagious disease, but many agree that making an effective vaccine is not an easy task.

South Korea reported six more cases of the new coronavirus but no new deaths Friday, bringing total infections to 10,703 and deaths to 240. Globally, more than 2.7 million people are infected and the death toll climbed past 190,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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