South Korea has launched its Covid-19 inoculation campaign, with shots to be administered in some 200 nursing homes, in an effort that officials call the first step in returning the country to more normal life.

The first doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine began to be given at 9am (0000 GMT) to nursing home workers and some patients at facilities across the country of about 52 million.

On Saturday, authorities plan to start giving 117,000 doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE supplied through Covax, an international Covid-19 vaccine-sharing programme, to about 55,000 healthcare workers in coronavirus treatment facilities, Reuters reported.

Despite complaints over a slow start, and debate over the efficacy of AstraZeneca's vaccine for older people, surveys show wide interest among South Koreans in being vaccinated.