South Korea’s Moon gets AstraZeneca vaccine

South Korean President Moon Jae-in received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday as the country expands its vaccination program to senior citizens and health workers.

Reuters reported that Moon got the first AstraZeneca dose ahead of a planned overseas trip to the United Kingdom in June for the Group of Seven gathering. Roughly 680,000 vaccinations have taken place in South Korea so far, according to the country’s health system.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Tuesday that he would get the vaccine too if he thought it would inspire others to get vaccinated. Health officials are battling a wave of skepticism surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine globally, and protests against vaccination have erupted across Europe.

“I’m willing to get an AstraZeneca vaccine first if that helps reassure people so that they feel safe about participating in the campaign,” Chung said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The country’s health system has reported just under 100,000 total infections since the pandemic began last year and 1,704 deaths from the virus.