Seoul, Oct 5 (IANS): Nine out of 10 South Korean adults have received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine, helping the country to get closer to a goal of creating herd immunity, health authorities said on Tuesday.

A total of 39.7 million people have received their first dose till date, accounting for 77.4 per cent of the country's 51.3 million population or 90 per cent of those aged over 18, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) as saying.

The number of fully vaccinated people stood at 27.2 million, or 53 per cent of the total or 61.6 percent of the adult population, the KDCA said.

Health authorities expressed optimism that the country will be able to fully inoculate over 70 per cent of the population by the end of October thanks to people's willingness to get vaccinations and smooth vaccine supplies

"The high vaccination rate is expected to help people get back to normal in phases," Hong Jung-ik, who is in charge of the vaccination program, said.

The vaccination rate among those aged 60 and over was higher than those in their 20s, 30s and 40s as the elderly populations were given the priority in the early stage of the vaccination campaign, which began in late February, according to the KDCA.

Nine out of 10 people aged 70 and over were fully vaccinated, far surpassing 38.3 percent of inoculation rate for those aged between 18 and 29.

South Korea is reviewing when to shift the anti-virus strategy into a scheme that focuses on treating seriously ill coronavirus patients from the current one designed to curb virus cases when it completes vaccinations of more than 80 per cent eligible population.

To speed up the inoculation drive, the government said it aims to provide further perks for vaccinated people, such as increasing the number of people for private gatherings.

On Tuesday, the country added 1,575 more Covid-19 cases, raising the total infection tally to 321,352, the KDCA said.

The overall death toll stood at 2,524.