South Korea says COVID-19 inoculations will begin from early next year. 

The Health and Welfare Ministry said in a press release on Tuesday that depending on the situation, inoculation could begin swiftly from the first half of next year. 

This comes amid growing public interest in the matter after the United Kingdom began administering the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday, becoming the first nation in the West to get vaccinated against the pandemic. 

Previously, Seoul said the decision on the timing will be made in a flexible manner. 

Kwon Joon-wook, deputy director of the Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters, said in a separate briefing that authorities will carefully monitor the situation in other countries, but added the government believes inoculation would begin “not that late” compared to foreign countries. 

However, Kwon made sure thorough efforts are taken to secure the vaccination program's safety and precision, as well as speed.

Earlier in the day, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said that the country has secured access to COVID-19 vaccines to immunize up to 44 million people, sourced from a World Health Organization-linked initiative as well as private drug companies, and that they will be introduced in February or March next year.