The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday that 1.05 trillion won ($867 million) has been allocated to help develop Covid-19 treatments and other similar efforts, as part of the government’s third supplementary budget.

The spending includes 26.5 billion won for financing national programs to give flu vaccines to teenagers aged 14 to 18 free of charge to prepare for the second wave of Covid-19 infections.

The ministry plans to spend 20.09 billion won for securing personal protective equipment -- 7.72 million Level D protective gears, two million masks, 300 ventilators, and 100 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines.

It will give another 400 billion won, following the same amount in the first extra budget, to medical institutions in financial difficulties amid sharp declines of revenue because of Covid-19.

About 140 billion won has been allotted to help finance clinical trials for Covid-19 treatment and vaccines as well as expanding the infrastructure of the national research center for viruses and infectious diseases.

It has set aside 6 billion won to build three smart hospitals that minimized the risk of infections through the fifth-generation network and monitoring tools and has information and communications technology, ministry officials said.

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