North Korea rejects offer of nearly 3 million Sinovac COVID-19 shots

September 1 (Reuters) – North Korea has rejected about three million doses of China’s Sinovac Biotech (SVA.O) COVID-19 vaccine, saying it should be sent to severely affected countries, UNICEF said on Wednesday.

The prosecutor’s office noted the limited global supply of vaccines and the continued rise of viruses elsewhere, according to the United Nations Children’s Agency, which manages the supply of the COVAX program for high-income countries. lower.

To date, North Korea has not reported any cases of COVID-19 and has imposed strict antivirus measures, including border closures and domestic travel brakes.

A spokesman for the UN agency told Reuters that the ministry will continue to contact COVAX facilities to receive vaccines in the coming months.

In July, North Korea had turned down shipments of the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccine because of concerns about side effects, according to a South Korean think tank affiliated with the Korean spy agency. of the South. Read more

The National Security Strategy Institute had said at the time that North Korea was not interested in Chinese vaccines because of concerns that they might not be as effective, but that it showed interest in the shots fired in Russia.

Several countries such as Thailand and Uruguay have begun using other vaccines for those who received the Sinovac shot as a first dose to try to increase protection. Read more

“We continue to work with DPRK authorities to help respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said a spokesman for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, one of the organizations that co-directs the COVAX program.

Reports of Manas Mishra in Bengaluru and Sangmi Cha in Seoul; Edited by Ramakrishnan M. and Arun Koyyur

Our standards: the principles of trust of Thomson Reuters.