Gyeongnam Province to Start AstraZeneca Vaccinations from the 26th... No Separate First Vaccination Recipient

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] The first COVID-19 vaccine in Korea, the AstraZeneca vaccine, will begin to be administered in Gyeongnam.

Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 23rd that, following the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's confirmation of the supply schedule for the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, COVID-19 vaccinations will start from 9 a.m. on the 26th.

The first dose shipments will be transported nationwide to public health centers and nursing hospitals from the 25th to the 28th. On the 25th, approximately 12,000 doses will be delivered to 24 nursing hospitals and 20 public health centers within the province, and on the 27th, about 22,000 doses will be delivered.

The first dose recipients include approximately 25,000 people under the age of 65, including residents and workers at 347 nursing hospitals and facilities. Any remaining vaccine doses after the first round will be used for the second dose.

The consent rate for vaccination among eligible recipients in the province is 93.1%. Nursing hospitals recorded 92.1%, and nursing facilities recorded 96.2% consent rates.

The province will not designate a specific 'first vaccine recipient.' Since vaccinations will begin simultaneously at 9 a.m. on the 26th, there are no plans to select a particular individual as the first recipient.

Vaccinations at the 24 nursing hospitals will be administered by medical staff affiliated with each hospital. For nursing facilities where self-administration is difficult, the 'visiting vaccination teams' from public health centers, currently consisting of 45 teams and about 280 personnel, will administer the vaccines, or contracted doctors from hospitals and clinics will visit the facilities to vaccinate.

By the 24th, the province will complete contracts with entrusted medical institutions and conduct pre-inspections of nursing hospitals and nursing facilities within each local government to ensure safe vaccinations.

Following the first dose, starting from the 8th of next month, approximately 22,000 workers at 162 high-risk medical institutions, including tertiary general hospitals and general hospitals, will receive vaccinations administered by their institutions. Additionally, about 6,800 first responders to COVID-19 (119 ambulance teams, epidemiological investigators, patient transporters, specimen testers and transporters) will be vaccinated at public health centers within the month.

The Pfizer vaccine, arriving in Korea for the first time on the 26th through the COVAX Facility (the global vaccine procurement alliance), will be administered in early next month to about 1,500 people at nine medical institutions in the province, including infectious disease-dedicated hospitals and residential treatment centers.

Shin Jongwoo, Director of the Welfare and Health Bureau, said, “We will do our best to properly start the vaccination process so that 2021 can be the year when residents return to their precious daily lives,” and urged, “Please actively participate in the vaccination.”