Coexist with COVID-19, Contain Ebola... Vaccines to Be Developed Within 200 Days in Infectious Disease Crises (Comprehensive)

KDCA Announces Advanced Measures for Infectious Disease Crisis Management
Response Differentiated Between "Limited Transmission" and "Pandemic" Types
Localization of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines by 2028

The government is revamping its infectious disease crisis response system. It will categorize future infectious diseases into two types: “limited transmission,” which can be eradicated domestically, and “pandemic,” which requires long-term coexistence. This approach will enable tailored responses. Additionally, a new social response manual will be developed, setting the criteria for implementing various public health measures, including social distancing.

Seung-Kwan Lim, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, stated at a briefing held on June 10 at the National Central Human Body Resource Bank in Cheongju, Chungbuk, "Through our experience with COVID-19, we have confirmed the existence of pandemics that cannot be explained solely by the concepts of eradication or elimination." He added, "There is a need to establish a coexistence strategy and develop a response system that considers not only recovery but also restoration phases."

Im Seung-kwan, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, is speaking at the briefing on the "Advancement Plan for Infectious Disease Crisis Management System" held on the 10th at the National Central Human Body Resource Bank in Cheongju, Chungbuk. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency

The “Advanced Measures for Infectious Disease Crisis Management System” announced by the Agency on this day focuses on establishing a full-cycle response system, from public health measures to medical care, vaccination, and R&D. This is based on lessons learned from the medical gaps and social and economic damage exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commissioner Lim said, "While we cannot predict when or in what form the next infectious disease will emerge, we can anticipate the environment in which we will face the crisis." He continued, "The risk of new pathogens emerging is increasing due to climate change, and the number of people vulnerable to infectious diseases will rise with an aging population." He further stated, "It is not enough to simply preserve and reuse past successful experiences. We must continually develop our response system to adapt to the changing environment."

The most notable change is the plan to respond by distinguishing between limited transmission and pandemic types of infectious disease crises. For diseases that can be eradicated domestically, such as Ebola or MERS, the focus will be on early containment. For those that inevitably result in prolonged outbreaks, such as COVID-19 or novel influenza, the strategy will be to operate medical and social response systems on the premise of coexistence.

Accordingly, a social response manual will be developed, outlining the criteria and decision-making processes for various social measures such as social distancing, movement restrictions, and the adjustment of facility operations. The Agency plans to establish a "Public Health and Social Response Subcommittee," involving experts from across society, to create a system that addresses not only public health but also economic, welfare, education, legal, and ethical issues during an infectious disease crisis.

The Agency decided to prepare a social response manual, considering that social measures like social distancing and movement restrictions during COVID-19 impacted not only the medical sector but also the economy, education, and welfare as a whole. Commissioner Lim explained, "In the case of pandemic-type infectious diseases, there may inevitably be times when administrative measures such as nationwide movement restrictions or limitations on the operation of specific facilities are required." He emphasized, "For social response measures, it is important how evidence-based the decision-making process is."

The medical response system will also be reorganized. Currently, government-designated inpatient treatment beds and emergency treatment beds are operated separately; these will be integrated and managed as national infectious disease beds under the direct control of the Agency. Based on this, regional infectious disease hospitals and centers will be designated to establish a localized response system that enables both infectious disease and general medical care to be provided concurrently.

In the R&D sector, the Agency will establish an Infectious Disease Clinical Research and Analysis Center to oversee public clinical trials, as well as a national research and development system to accelerate the development of vaccines and therapeutics. In particular, organizations with core mRNA technology will receive focused support from preclinical to phase 3 clinical trials, with the aim of localizing COVID-19 mRNA vaccines by 2028.

The Agency will also build a vaccine library and a national therapeutics library, in which prototype vaccines for high-risk pandemic pathogens will be pre-developed and stockpiled. Through these efforts, the goal is to establish a system capable of developing vaccines for emerging infectious diseases within 100 to 200 days.

Commissioner Lim emphasized, "No matter what kind of infectious disease crisis occurs, we will build a system that enables society to absorb the shock and recover." He added, "Even if another infectious disease crisis arrives, we will establish a resilient response system capable of protecting lives and preserving the value of daily life."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.