Vaccination Damage Investigation Team Reviews 26 Death Reports
"No Need to Halt Vaccinations... Further Discussion on Future Plans"
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The government has decided to continue influenza (flu) vaccinations without interruption. Although some in the medical community suggested halting vaccinations to investigate causality after a series of deaths following vaccination, a prior review of the death cases concluded there is no direct link between the vaccinations and the deaths.
On the 23rd, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) held a meeting of the Vaccine Injury Investigation Committee and made this decision after reviewing some of the reported death cases. The KDCA stated, "After reviewing 26 reported death cases, including one death following a severe adverse reaction report, no direct association with the vaccine was confirmed," and added, "We judged that there is no situation warranting suspension of vaccinations."
Earlier, on the 16th, a 17-year-old high school student in Incheon passed away, and it was revealed that the student had received a flu vaccination two days prior. Subsequently, after free vaccinations began for the elderly, multiple deaths among those aged 60 and above were reported. According to the KDCA, as of 1 p.m. on the same day, 36 death cases had been reported, including those who died following severe adverse reaction reports.
Seoul Yeongdeungpo-gu Public Health Center recommended postponing vaccinations at local medical institutions However, these are simply compiled reports of severe adverse reactions including deaths, and there is concern that this could lead to misunderstandings that vaccinations caused the deaths. The KDCA emphasized, "These are simple reported statistics with no established link between the vaccine or vaccination and the deaths."
The Vaccine Injury Investigation Committee had already concluded in its first review on the 21st that the possibility of death caused by the vaccine was very low. This was because all six death cases reviewed at that time involved different vaccines. As the number of death cases increased, it was revealed that some deceased had received the same vaccine with the same lot number, prompting another meeting and review on this day. However, the committee still found no causal relationship between the vaccine and the deaths. KDCA Director Jeong Eun-kyung had stated at the previous National Assembly audit that if there were cases of death following the same vaccine, they would consider suspending vaccinations.
Although some local governments and public health centers recently suspended vaccinations, the government has prevented local governments from independently deciding to postpone vaccinations to avoid confusion among citizens scheduled for vaccination and frontline medical institutions. The KDCA announced, "The Vaccination Expert Committee will hold a meeting tomorrow morning (the 24th) to review additional analysis data and further discuss future vaccination plans."
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