'2296 Vaccinated Individuals Suspected of Room Temperature Exposure... 1 Additional Case'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] It has been revealed that nearly 2,300 people at frontline medical sites received influenza (flu) vaccines that were suspected of being exposed to room temperature during distribution, leading to a suspension of vaccinations.

On the 5th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released reference materials related to the influenza vaccination project, stating, "As of the 4th, a total of 2,296 cases of government-procured vaccine administrations have been reported across 15 regions currently under investigation." This is one more than the 2,295 people announced by the KDCA the previous day. The number of vaccinated individuals was adjusted as local governments updated their reports, with Gyeonggi Province increasing by 2 and Incheon decreasing by 1.

The regions with vaccinated individuals include 15 cities and provinces nationwide, excluding Gangwon and Ulsan. By region, Gyeonggi had the highest number with 675 people, followed by Gwangju with 361, and Jeonbuk with 326. Other regions reported as follows: Incheon 213, Gyeongbuk 161, Seoul 149, Daegu 105, Busan 101, Chungnam 74, Sejong 51, Jeonnam 40, Daejeon 17, Gyeongnam 14, Jeju 8, and Chungbuk 1.

Initially, the KDCA announced on September 22, immediately after suspending the use of the vaccine, that no one had been vaccinated with the problematic vaccine. However, the number steadily increased from 105 on September 25 to 224, 324, 407, 873, 1,362, 1,910, 2,290, and 2,303. Following a correction in the number of vaccinated individuals the previous day, it decreased to 2,295 but rose again to 2,296 on this day.

The number of people reporting adverse reactions such as fever and body aches after receiving the flu vaccine suspected of room temperature exposure has not increased since the 30th of last month, remaining at 12 to date.