Around five-thousand patients and workers at nursing homes across the country will be the first recipients of the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination program. 

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) on Thursday announced those to receive the first batch of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines available starting Friday. 

Day One of the nationwide inoculation program will begin with the administering of AstraZeneca shots for five-thousand-266 inpatients and workers at 213 nursing facilities who are under the age of 65. 

They will be followed by those at 292 other convalescent hospitals, who will also receive doses enough for 10 million people that Seoul is purchasing directly from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company. They are produced by its domestic partner SK Bioscience.

On Saturday, 300 workers at specialized COVID-19 hospitals, including 199 at the National Medical Center, will get the first shipment of Pfizer vaccine at the Seoul-located center. 

They are part of the 110-thousand doses of Pfizer vaccines procured through the UN-backed global supply initiative, COVAX Facility, for medical professions on the frontline against the pandemic. All the doses will be administered by March 20.