Health authorities have decided to look for efficient ways to prevent discarding unused COVID-19 vaccines.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said on Friday that it had created a task force to work toward minimizing the disposal of unused vaccines. Options under consideration include the donation of surplus shots to other countries or an agreement with manufacturers to adjust the supply schedule.

Health authorities have explained, however, that it is important to maintain existing supply contracts in case a new strain of the virus appears during the second half of the year.

In the event that a new virus variant does not occur, health authorities have said they are both working with vaccine manufacturers to adjust the schedule as well as finding countries that are in need of vaccines through the foreign ministry.

More than 3 million doses have been disposed of during the last 14 months, with about 15 million doses available to be administered.

As of Friday, nearly 87 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated while more than 64 percent have received their booster shots.