Health officials believe herd immunity can be achieved if over 70 percent of the population is vaccinated, even if the COVID-19 reproduction rate surpasses two.

Jeong Eun-kyeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA), made the comment in a Monday briefing.
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The reproduction rate refers to the average number of infections caused by a single patient, with a figure over one meaning that the disease is spreading. South Korea's reproduction rate for the third week of February stands at one-point-12. 

The government's plan is to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by September to achieve herd immunity by November.

Jeong named three variables that could affect whether Korea reaches its herd immunity goal by November: the rate of immunization, the vaccine delivery schedule and COVID-19 variants.

She added necessary monitoring and adjustments will be made as vaccine efficacy could change due to the new variants.