South Koreans working with US forces become first to receive COVID-19 vaccination

South Koreans working at US military bases in the country have become the first citizens to be inoculated against the coronavirus, media reported on Thursday.

According to state news agency Yonhap, the US Forces Korea (USFK) confirmed that Korean health care workers and soldiers part of the Korean Augmentation to the US Army (KATUSA) were among those to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech shots.

"USFK confirms that we started inoculating Korean National health care workers and KATUSA today," the command said in a statement.

South Korea's vaccination campaign is not scheduled to begin until February, the agency reported.

Separately, the USFK on Thursday said that two civilians working with US troops have tested positive for COVID-19 and that the forces remain on high alert.

The number of people who have been inoculated and those in line to do so remains unclear, according to Yonhap.

South Korea has so far registered over 60,000 cases and 900 deaths from COVID-19, with December showing daily infection rates exceed the 1,000 mark. (/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )