All those aged 60 and older in South Korea will be eligible to receive a second booster shot against COVID-19.

Health minister Kwon Deok-cheol presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Wednesday and said the fourth round of inoculation will expand to include all those aged 60 and older.

He said the plan has been set up following the verification of the efficacy and safety of a fourth shot by local experts and officials and after monitoring similar programs overseas including in the U.S. and the U.K.

Further details will be announced later in the day, he said.

The government initiated the fourth round of vaccinations in February but only patients and workers at nursing hospitals and those with weakened immune systems have been eligible for the program so far.