S. Korea calls for early development, fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines

SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health minister has called for early development and fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines as countries around the world try to stem the spread of the pandemic.

Park Neunghoo urged countries to invest more in health and medical infrastructure that can provide greater access to vital services for the general public.

"The coronavirus pandemic is still an ongoing crisis and to ensure the safety of everyone, vaccines must be produced as soon as possible, and they need to be fairly distributed," he said Thursday in a videoconference of the Group of 20 Finance and Health Ministers.

Park said that South Korea fully supports efforts by the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) system set up by the World Health Organization and the European Union, and the COVAX Facility that is at the forefront of international efforts to find treatment and facilitate distribution.

South Korea said earlier this month that it will take part in the ACT-A as a facilitation council member and will contribute funds to the COVAX Facility.

COVAX is a global initiative designed to work with vaccine manufacturers to provide equitable access to safe and effective vaccines to countries worldwide.

Park said that South Korea is engaged in a so-called K-Health international cooperation project that will help support Association of Southeast Asian Nations in better responding to infectious diseases and further strengthen their medical service coverage to benefit more people.

yonngong@yna.co.kr
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