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South Korea is preparing 250 vaccination centers across the country as it looks to kick off a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program next month.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Friday that the government was moving ahead of schedule with its preparations to start the program after it became possible that the first batch of purchased vaccines will come before the Lunar New Year holiday, as opposed to originally expected timeframe of late next month.

The government is planning to install one vaccination center per city or county and one more for each city or county with a population of over 500,000.

The ministry said the vaccination centers must be located in a ventilated place where large groups of people can be on standby while maintaining proper social distancing. Vaccination centers must also be equipped with their own power generators, lighting equipment and air conditioning systems.

Cold-chain systems are critical for those vaccination centers, as Pfizer’s vaccine must be store in 70 degrees Celsius to maintain its efficacy and safety.

Interior Ministry official Park Jong-hyun said the government is so far reviewing 150 facilities to run the vaccination program, with a large portion of them being athletic centers and theaters.

The government will also designate 10,000 medical centers to take part in the vaccination program, Park said, adding that the final list of vaccination centers will be announced next week after the ministry consults with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The government is expediting its process as the country is on track to receive 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines before Feb. 11 under the COVAX scheme. Korea has secured enough vaccines for 56 million people and is in discussion with Novavax to secure additional volume for 20 million people.

The country is planning to start distributing vaccines from AstraZeneca in February and those directly from Janssen and Pfizer in the second and third quarters, respectively.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is currently under review for emergency approval, which is believed to be granted within next month. Pfizer is preparing to apply its vaccine for approval later this month.

周四(1月21日)，美国总统拜登签署10项行政命令，以对抗新冠疫情。除了要求所有飞到美国的旅客除了佩戴口罩以外，在起飞前也要接受新冠病毒检测，抵美后也必须接受隔离。

拜登说: “我们不是在一夜之间陷入这样混乱的情况，所以要扭转一切也需要花几个月的时间。”他警告，政策推行可能遭遇正反意见，他也重申准备发放更多援助。

拜登上任后的防疫新政一览表:

1. 所有人搭乘航班前往美国之前都必须接受检测，抵美后也必须接受隔离
2. 搭乘大众运输工具，搭乘跨州巴士、参观旅游景点时必须佩戴口罩
3. 正在准备透过药局分发新冠疫苗
4. 引用国防生产法扩大生产疫苗与其他防护用具
5. 透过联邦紧急管理中心建设公共疫苗中心
6. 在拜登上任100天内为1亿人接种疫苗
7. 建立学校、大学、儿童中心等场所重新开放的指导原则
8. 加强学校与疫情的数据搜集工作
9. 提倡雇员的安全权利
10. 创造新组织以监督日渐增加的病毒检测
11. 将资源挹注到被疫情重创的社区

韩国政府计划从下月起开始启动新冠疫苗的接种，关于接种疫苗的整体方案等筹备工作也在热火朝天的进行中。1月20日有消息称，韩国有望追加购买2000万剂美国Novavax公司的疫苗(NVX CoV2373)。购买合同一旦签订，那么韩国目前通过包括4家制药公司和新冠疫苗保障机制(COVAX Facility)购买的数量在内总共将拿到7600万人剂量的疫苗。按照韩国总人口(5182万人)来算，韩国的疫苗覆盖率将达到146.7%。

1月18日，文在寅总统在新年记者会上表示，“计划从2月开始接种疫苗，到9月为止将完成对重点接种群体(优先接种对象)的第一次接种”，“到那时大体上应该能够形成群体免疫”。

堆积如山的任务

不过，目前的前景还不是那么乐观，需要克服的问题仍然不少。首先就是已经签约的5600万剂疫苗究竟何时才能交付尚不明确，能否按照预期计划进行接种也就很难保证。不仅如此，像辉瑞等疫苗的流通需要构建冷链。加上最近在国外接种疫苗后接连出现死亡案例，因此韩国内部也开始有声音指出“应该重新探讨优先接种对象”，接种计划很可能要面临重重困境。

一、要完成疫苗接种计划，供给是关键
要按计划如期进行疫苗接种，则必须保证疫苗的供给。韩国政府已签订疫苗的交付时间为阿斯利康2月底；莫德纳(Moderna)和杨森第二季度；辉瑞第3~4季度。但预计最先供应的阿斯利康首批疫苗只有75万剂。COVAX机制交付的数量也差不多。韩国国务总理丁世均20日在接受采访时表示，“通过COVAX获得的1000万剂疫苗中，第一批交付的5万剂疫苗将于2月初到韩国”。丁世均总理所提到的5万剂是辉瑞疫苗，预计在2月初到货，而辉瑞其他批次的疫苗何时能够落实还难以预测。

庆北大学医院感染内科教授金信佑指出,“韩国政府虽然努力想把接种时间提前，但我们暂时无法保证疫苗供应的时间是否赶上接种开始的时间。他接着补充道，“在2~3个月内快速进行疫苗接种固然是好事，但接下来的关键应该是确保辉瑞和莫德纳疫苗的供应”。

梨花女子大学呼吸内科教授千恩美(音)表示，“虽然我们签订了合同，但疫苗还没有到手”，“美国和欧洲尽管已经付款，但是疫苗的供应被推迟。因此他们也在主张应该分批引进，并延长接种时间计划”。

二、疫苗运输和管理也需要培训

需要保持超低温状态的部分疫苗运输、储存体系建设也是有待解决的课题。去年韩国接种流感疫苗时还发生过疫苗暴露于常温的事件。当时有106万剂疫苗全部被废弃。政府签订的疫苗中辉瑞(1000万人份)和莫德纳(2000万人份)的疫苗分别需要在零下70度和零下20度保管和运输。由于必须通过冷链系统，所以需要构建相关冷冻设备。韩国政府计划在本月内购买100台莫德纳和辉瑞专用冰箱。此后，将在具备冷冻设施的据点进行疫苗接种。一般的社区医院将无法接种疫苗。

专家对此表示半信半疑。翰林大学圣心医院呼吸内科教授郑錡硕表示，“构建冷链本身并不难。因为韩国领土比美国小，在运输时移动的距离比较短”。

与之相反，千恩美(音)教授表示，“与国外相比，韩国的冷冻技术并不发达，令人担忧”。她接着指出，“不仅需要构建设施，还需要对医疗人员进行培训”，“更何况，阿斯利康、莫德纳、辉瑞等疫苗是一剂包括多人剂量的类型，必须经过将这些疫苗分别装进一人份容器的分装过程”。

翰林大学医学院预防医学系教授金东贤也提出建议，“虽然构建冷链并不困难，但到目前为止我们还没有尝试过这种体统，因此有必要进行培训”。

三、患有基础疾病的老年人列入优先接种对象引发争议

在政府公布的优先接种对象中，“养老医院和养老院的老年人”是首要接种的群体，这引起了争议。最近，在正式开启接种疫苗的挪威或法国等国家中，接种疫苗后死亡的老年人在不断增加。有人指出，有必要对优先接种对象进行重新讨论。如果在韩国接种疫苗后出现死亡事例，即使无法证明因果关系，但有可能引发人们对疫苗接种的不信任。这种情况也会降低接种率。

千恩美(音)教授建议，“应该首先让养老院和养老医院的工作人员接种，然后再由比较健康的高龄患者接种，这可能是比较合理的方案”。

与之相反，金信佑教授建议，“只要没有患有急性疾病，都应该接种疫苗”，“从感染新冠病毒时产生的危害和疫苗副作用的角度来看，先接种疫苗提高免疫力更好一些”。

在欧盟卫生机构发出紧急呼吁后，欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩周四晚间强烈劝告取消成员国之间所有非必要旅行，她说，“我们对正在流行的各种变异病毒非常担心。”

冯德莱恩提议增设“深红区”来标识高风险区域，对于来自欧盟境内深红区的人员，都必须在出发前进行核酸检测，然后入境后再实施隔离。

对来自欧盟境外的“必要旅行”，冯德莱恩表示， “我们将提出额外的安全检查措施，例如在出发前要求进行测试等”。

面对传染性很强的英国和南非变异病毒，包括德国和荷兰等成员国已在近日采取更加严厉的措施，荷兰议会于周四晚上批准了实施宵禁；对英国变种病毒感到担忧的葡萄牙宣布关闭中小学校，托儿所和大学，为期15天。

欧盟同时呼吁加速接种疫苗，在夏天结束时70%的成年人口完成接种，三月底以前，80%的卫生医疗人员以及年龄80岁以上的老人完成接种。

欧盟目前已批准使用的疫苗有美国辉瑞公司和德国生物技术研发的辉瑞疫苗以及美国莫德纳疫苗，另外，月底前，欧盟医药局应该会批准目前已在英国上市的阿斯利康疫苗上市。

欧盟目前总共与疫苗制造公司签订了六项购买合同，与另外两家制药公司正在商谈，购买的疫苗总数预计将达到25亿剂。

In a bid to stem the ongoing spread of coronavirus, revellers will be slapped with £800 fines if they attend house parties with more than 15 people present during lockdown, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel announced on Thursday.
The fines will double for repeat offences, up to a maximum of £6,400, and the organisers of events will continue to be fined £10,000, as per the current restrictions, in what Patel called a “crackdown on those most serious cases of rule-breaking”.

The home secretary was joined by the Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Martin Hewitt, who said that, from late August to January 17, some 250 fixed penalty notices had been issued in England for people organising large gatherings.

“I make no apology for those fines, which are being given in the most serious cases where those organising the gatherings are selfishly putting lives at risk,” Hewitt said.

He also outlined some recent incidents as examples of serious breaches, including house parties, which he said were “dangerous, irresponsible and totally unacceptable.”

Hewitt said three officers were recently injured, with one requiring hospital treatment, as they responded to a house party of more than 40 people on Brick Lane in London, where drugs were found. Fines were issued and arrests made.

Another officer was injured while responding to a recent party in Hertfordshire attended by 150 people, which was busted when neighbours contacted police after seeing an unusual number of cars in the street.

Another officer in Bournemouth who was policing an anti-lockdown protest contracted Covid-19 and was admitted to hospital, while other officers have been spat on in recent weeks, including one who also contracted the virus.

From April to September, some 1,688 offences have been charged relating to assaults on emergency workers, according to new figures released by the Crown Prosecution Service on Thursday.

Dr Vin Diwakar, the NHS England Medical Director for London, who also spoke alongside Patel at Thursday’s briefing, said it is “far too early” to think about lifting the lockdown, although he added that the current measures do appear to be “having an impact.”

He also said that doctors had asked him to deliver a message to the country to “follow the rules, stay at home, help us to save lives.”

On Thursday, the UK posted a further 37,892 new Covid-19 infections and 1,290 deaths within 28 days of positive test, meaning almost 95,000 people in the country have died from the virus.