Busan's First Vaccinee: 50s Nurse Kim Suni at Haeundae Elderly Care Facility

Vaccination Begins in Busan on the 26th Amid Calm Atmosphere... 32,700 Vaccine Doses Arrive in Busan

Priority Vaccination for Patients, Residents, and Workers in Nursing Hospitals and Facilities... First Vaccinee is Medical Staff at Elderly Nursing

Nurse Kim Suni, the first vaccine recipient in Busan and a nurse at Eunhwa Nursing Home in Haeundae-gu, Busan, is receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine at the Haeundae-gu Public Health Center in Busan on the morning of the 26th. [Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan's first vaccine recipient was nurse Kim Soon-yi (50, female), who has worked at a nursing hospital for 30 years. Her first impression was, "It doesn't hurt at all."

On the morning of the 26th at 9:30 a.m., Kim visited the Haeundae-gu Public Health Center in person to receive the vaccination. She is the head nurse at Eunhwa Senior Nursing Home in Haeundae-gu.

The AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine contains 10 doses per vial, so vaccinations are conducted in units of 10 people. At 9:30 a.m. that day, 20 workers from two nursing facilities visited the Haeundae-gu Public Health Center to receive their vaccinations.

Among directors, social workers, nursing assistants, and social service agents, medical personnel Kim was chosen as the first recipient, drawing significant attention.

The AZ vaccine, the first COVID-19 vaccine approved domestically, arrived in Busan on the 25th, the day before, and began the grand journey to create herd immunity against COVID-19 starting on the 26th.

Busan city announced that on the first day of vaccination, the 26th, vaccinations were underway at a total of 10 locations, including five public health centers?Haeundae-gu, Yeonje-gu, Suyeong-gu, Busanjin-gu, and Yeongdo-gu?and five nursing hospitals.

The first batch of AZ vaccines that arrived in Busan consisted of 6,900 doses. On the 27th, an additional 25,800 doses of AZ vaccine will arrive in Busan. Over two days, a total of 32,700 doses will be delivered to 289 locations, including 187 nursing hospitals and 102 nursing facilities in Busan, prioritizing patients under 65, residents, and workers.

The total number of priority recipients currently tallied is 24,940. Among them, 23,406 people, or 93.8% of the total target group, have consented to vaccination.

The amount of vaccine that arrived over two days is reportedly sufficient for all these priority recipients to receive one dose each.

Vaccinations at nursing hospitals with resident doctors are conducted within their own facilities. For nursing facilities, contracted medical institutions or public health center visiting vaccination teams will visit the facilities to administer vaccines, or recipients will visit their respective public health centers to get vaccinated.

Regarding future vaccine supplies to Busan, a city official stated, "The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency is coordinating nationwide supply to ensure smooth vaccination progress, so it is difficult to specify details," adding, "Vaccines will arrive in Busan as scheduled according to the originally planned vaccination order without disruption."

According to the current vaccination schedule, in the first quarter (February to March), the vaccination targets include: residents and workers under 65 years old in nursing hospitals and nursing facilities; workers and inpatients in psychiatric medical institutions with closed wards; workers in high-risk medical institutions (tertiary general hospitals, general hospitals, hospitals); first responders to COVID-19 (119 emergency medical services, epidemiological investigators, quarantine officers, specimen collectors, testers, transporters, laboratory personnel, and other quarantine-related workers); and workers at COVID-19 treatment hospitals (infectious disease dedicated hospitals, base hospitals, hospitals operating severe patient treatment beds, and residential treatment centers).

In the second quarter (April to June), vaccination will be given to general citizens aged 65 and older; residents and workers in COVID-19 vulnerable facilities; and healthcare workers in medical institutions excluding those targeted in the first quarter. From the third quarter, starting in July, vaccination will be extended to general citizens aged 18 and older.

Pregnant women and children and adolescents under 18 are excluded from vaccination targets but this may change depending on additional clinical results.

The vaccination plan for residents and workers aged 65 and older in nursing hospitals and facilities, originally scheduled for the first quarter, will be reexamined by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency after verifying the vaccine's effectiveness.