South Korea will begin administering coronavirus vaccines to medical workers and the elderly from February, presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min said Sunday.

Noh made the remark during a high-level policy discussion between officials from Cheong Wa Dae, the government and the ruling party at the National Assembly.

"In terms of volume, we've already secured enough (vaccines) to protect our people. Vaccinations of medical workers and the elderly will begin in February of next year," Noh said during the meeting.

Noh said that other nations are expected to offer inoculations to the general public during the second quarter and that "South Korea too will likely start vaccinations of average people around the same period."

He also expected collective herd immunity among the general population to be formed in a similar time frame or faster than foreign countries. "The government is doing all it can to advance this time frame and is also making progress," Noh said. (Yonhap)