South Korean health authorities say COVID-19 vaccination is effective against the delta variant of the virus originally identified in India, which is quickly becoming the dominant strain worldwide. 

Lee Sang-won, chief epidemiologist at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA), said on Tuesday that over 90 percent of the recent COVID-19 cases in the U.K. were reportedly diagnosed with the delta variant. 

But, Lee said nearly all those new cases were only partially vaccinated or not vaccinated at all while 65 percent of the new cases have yet to receive their first shots. He said those fully vaccinated are judged to have a strong level of immunity in preventing infections or developing into severe cases if infected. 

According to the Public Health England(PHE), the Pfizer vaccine was 87-point-nine percent effective and AstraZeneca vaccine 59-point-eight percent effective against the delta variant when fully vaccinated. 

Lee emphasized the need to swiftly and completely vaccinate the population of South Korea.