South Korea said it had signed deals to provide coronavirus vaccines for 44 million people next year but it would not hurry inoculation to allow more time to observe potential side effects.

Its cautious approach comes as the country of almost 52 million people battles surging Covid-19 infections that health authorities say threaten to overwhelm the medical system, Reuters reported.

The South Korean government has arranged to buy 20 million doses each from AstraZeneca Plc, Pfizer Inc, and Moderna Inc, and another 4 million doses from Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, enough to cover up to 34 million people, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a briefing.

Additional doses for 10 million people would be procured through the World Health Organization's global vaccine project, known as COVAX, he added.