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| Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong announces COVID-19 vaccination plans at the KDCA headquarters in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Thursday. / Yonhap |
COVID-19 vaccinations to begin next month, medical personnel to be prioritized
By Jun Ji-hye
The government will start the first COVID-19 vaccinations next month, beginning with medical personnel at hospitals designated for treating patients infected with the coronavirus, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Thursday, noting that the country is aiming to achieve herd immunity by November.
Inoculations will be expanded in stages to inpatients and workers at geriatric hospitals and nursing homes, and then to those at the frontlines in the fight against the pandemic, including ambulance workers and quarantine officials.
KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said that the order of vaccinations has been finalized through consultations with health experts and a review of overseas cases, with the aim of minimizing fatalities and preventing virus spreads in local communities.
She noted that authorities took into consideration high fatality rates for the elderly, citing that those over 80 years old have shown a fatality rate of 20.24 percent as of Sunday, while the rate stood at 0.3 percent for those in their 50s.
"COVID-19 vaccinations will begin in stages in accordance with a government plan. We ask all people to participate in the inoculations in order to get our lives to return to normal," Jeong said during a media briefing. "Even after the inoculations begin, people are asked to continue to comply with existing antivirus measures, such as wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing, until herd immunity is reached."
Medical personnel working at COVID-19 hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Provinces, will be the first to get vaccinated at a central vaccination center to be set up at National Medical Center.
Inoculations will then be expanded to other vaccination centers and hospitals for virus patients across the country.
Inpatients and workers at geriatric hospitals and nursing homes will be the next to receive the vaccine, followed by medical staff at general hospitals, ambulance workers, quarantine official and epidemiological investigators.
In the second quarter, residents over 65 years old and those living and working in facilities vulnerable to virus infections, such as institutes for the disabled, will get vaccinated.
"Inoculations will be expanded to all residents in the latter half of the year," Jeong said, noting that the government is aiming to have almost all of the population vaccinated by September.
The government has secured vaccines for 56 million people from four global pharmaceutical companies ― Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, AstraZeneca and Moderna ― and via the COVAX facility, the WHO-led global vaccine distribution project. The number is enough to cover Korea's entire population.
The government is also working additionally to secure Novavax vaccines for 20 million people in order to brace for any uncertainties in vaccine deliveries.
The KDCA said that the AstraZeneca vaccine is scheduled to be shipped within the first quarter, followed by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen and Moderna in the second quarter, and Pfizer in the third quarter.
Citizens won't be given the choice to select the vaccine of a specific company, it said.
With regards to mounting concerns over the safety of vaccines, the KDCA said that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will thoroughly examine the vaccines in accordance with domestic standards, as well as consult with outside experts, before approving them for use.
According to the KDCA, the country added 497 more COVID-19 cases, including 479 local infections, for Wednesday, raising the total accumulated number of cases to 76,926 until now.
The nation's daily count of new cases stayed at around 500 for the second straight day due mainly to infection clusters traced to religious facilities. The government will decide whether to extend or lower the current social distancing level this Saturday.
