 U.S.
military offers J&J vaccines for South Korean troops
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[May 17, 2021]
By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military has
offered to provide some Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) coronavirus vaccines
for South Korean troops, the defence ministry said on Monday, as South
Korea struggles with a shortage of COVID-19 shots.
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 The offer comes days before President Moon Jae-in is due to visit
Washington for his first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, amid
calls for Moon to secure more and faster deliveries of U.S.-made
vaccines.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)
had offered to give 13,000 doses of J&J's vaccine, citing
unidentified government sources.
The ministry declined to confirm how many shots USFK had offered,
but said it was discussing how to use them with USFK and health
authorities.
"USFK had conveyed its willingness to provide J&J vaccines for the
vaccination of our soldiers," the ministry said in a statement.
USFK spokesman Colonel Lee Peters declined to confirm the offer but
told Reuters that it was working closely with the South Korean
government on the U.S.-authorised use of COVID-19 vaccines.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency referred queries on
the issue to the health ministry, which did not respond to requests
for comment.
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In March, USFK said it began administering J&J's single-dose
vaccines to its troops and affiliated members, following the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration's authorisation in February.
Global shortages and shipment delays have posed uncertainties in
South Korea's vaccine rollout, deepening public scepticism over its
goal of reaching herd immunity by November.
South Korea's food and drug safety ministry granted final approval
for the J&J shot in April, after signing a deal to import those
shots for 6 million people but the date for their shipment has not
been finalised.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Josh Smith;
Editing by Robert Birsel)
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