Police on Monday pledged all-out efforts to ensure the safety of the nation's COVID-19 inoculation program to be rolled out late this week.

South Korea plans to begin to administer AstraZeneca's vaccines Friday and Pfizer's products Saturday. Pfizer's shots are scheduled to arrive in the country Friday while AstraZeneca's vaccines are produced in SK Bioscience Co.'s factory in Andong, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Kim Chang-yong, chief of the National Police Agency (NPA), said the agency will mobilize all possible means to safeguard vaccines throughout the processes of transport, storage and administration.

"We will carry out our mission perfectly to prevent any problems during the vaccination process," Kim said during a news conference.

Special forces and patrol cars will be deployed in the transportation of vaccines from Incheon International Airport to an integrated distribution center, the NPA said.

Dedicated units and armed officers will be dispatched to protect shots stored in production and logistics facilities and vaccination centers.

The NPA commissioner-general also vowed to sternly crack down on fake news related to vaccines.

"We have issued comprehensive directives to tackle fake news, including those exaggerating and distorting vaccine aftereffects," he said.

The NPA will cooperate with telecom authorities to block and remove misinformation and thoroughly investigate spreaders, he added. (Yonhap)