Health authorities in South Korea will facilitate for more people to receive their first COVID-19 shots earlier by flexibly adjusting the time between the first and second inoculations. 

In a press release Friday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) said that it has made adjustments to the vaccination plan so that more people can be inoculated with vaccines already in the country.  

The agency had earlier decided to extend the interval between doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to eight to 12 weeks compared to the previous four to 12 weeks as recommended by the Drug Safety Ministry.

Authorities also plan to make more active use of low dead space(LDS) syringes which are designed to minimize wasted vaccines and maximize the number of shots per vial.

Other changes include pushing up dates for 384-thousand caretakers of the elderly and disabled from June to April, as well as for some 500-thousand teachers and assistants at kindergartens, daycares and elementary schools from June to May.

Inoculations for other those in occupations including healthcare workers and flight attendants will also be moved up.