Mokpo City Health Center Provides Free Hepatitis A Vaccinations for High-Risk Groups

Free Vaccination for Chronic Liver Disease Patients Aged 20-40 at Public Health Centers and Designated Medical Institutions

Mokpo City Public Health Center (Photo by Mokpo City)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Ki-dong] Mokpo City Health Center announced on the 11th that it will provide free hepatitis A vaccination to high-risk groups aged 20 to 40 who suffer from chronic viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, etc., as hepatitis A cases rapidly increased last year.

The vaccination targets are those who were hospitalized at least once or visited outpatient clinics at least twice since 2018 with high-risk disease codes (chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, liver fibrosis, etc.), excluding those who have already completed vaccination or have formed antibodies.

Eligible individuals can check the notification message sent by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and visit the city health center, Hadang Health Branch, or any of the 21 designated medical institutions in the area to receive an antibody test (excluding health centers and branches) or vaccination.

For vaccination, those born between 1980 and 1999 will be vaccinated immediately without an antibody test considering their low antibody retention rate, while those born between 1970 and 1979 with a higher antibody retention rate will be tested for antibodies and vaccinated only if antibodies are absent.

The designated medical institutions for hepatitis A vaccination for high-risk groups in the Mokpo area can be found on the health center’s website and the Vaccination Helper site.

A health center official stated, “Hepatitis A is an infectious disease that spreads easily through contact with infected patients or through water or food contaminated with the virus,” and added, “High-risk groups such as patients with chronic liver disease have a higher risk of complications such as jaundice, high fever, and fulminant hepatitis if infected with hepatitis A, so we strongly recommend getting vaccinated.”