The Wall Street Journal reported on January 4 that North Korea had applied to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), a non-governmental organisation, to obtain a vaccine for COVID-19.
The GavI Alliance is leading the COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Program (COVAX), which is committed to providing equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.
North Korea is one of 92 low-income countries selected under the Advance Market Purchase Commitment (COVAX AMC) for the COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation program. Of these 92 countries, 86 have submitted applications for vaccine supplies.
North Korea has also recently frequently consulted embassies in several European countries about ways to obtain COVID-19 vaccines, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing several people involved.
To date, north Korea has not had a publicly confirmed case of COVID-19. But health experts generally cast doubt on the North Korean figure.
As of December 17, 12,000 people had been tested for COVID-19 and tens of thousands were quarantined, according to the World Health Organization.
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