'Vaccination Start' Nursing Hospitals, How Did They Prepare?

"Allow Contact Visits" Patients' Expectations
Thorough Preparation Including Refrigeration and Vaccination Intervals

On the morning of the 26th, medical staff at Geumcheon-gu Public Health Center in Seoul are filling syringes with the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine for COVID-19. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] "For well over a month before the Lunar New Year holiday, in-person visits with patients were completely prohibited. Even now, only non-contact visits are allowed. There is considerable anticipation that once vaccinations are administered and in-person visits are permitted, it would be great, and if possible, patients would also like to go out."

Long-term care hospitals, which had been subdued throughout last year due to the COVID-19 crisis, are beginning to feel a sense of hope. On the 26th, AstraZeneca vaccines started arriving one by one at long-term care hospitals nationwide. Kim Ki-ju, director of Seonhanbit Long-term Care Hospital located in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, shared, "The staff are welcoming it, relieved that they no longer have to worry as much about COVID-19 infections occurring within the hospital because of themselves."

At Seonhanbit Long-term Care Hospital, a total of 119 people, including 13 inpatients, are scheduled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in this round of vaccinations. Although the actual vaccinations will begin on the 2nd of next month according to the guidelines of the local public health center, the hospital has already entered 'vaccination mode' well in advance. In particular, they have focused heavily on determining the vaccination order and creating protocols for responding to side effects. Director Kim said, "One vial can vaccinate 10 people, but it can only be stored at room temperature for 6 hours, so we simulated the process to ensure vaccinations are administered without any omissions." He added, "It also took a lot of time to prepare protocols on how to respond if side effects occur."

Carnation Long-term Care Hospital in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, is also focusing on vaccination preparations, putting aside their anticipation for the moment. Here, a total of 70 people, including 18 patients and 52 staff members, will receive the vaccine. Labor-hoon, director of Carnation Long-term Care Hospital, explained, "All medical staff in the hospital have received vaccination training, and the refrigeration system is thoroughly prepared with alarms set to go off if the storage temperature deviates from the required 2 to 8 degrees Celsius." He further explained, "Since there is no large space for vaccination, making social distancing difficult, we decided to solve this by staggering the vaccination times."

Some patients who agreed to vaccination still have concerns about the vaccine's safety. Director Noh said, "Anaphylactic shock, the most serious side effect, appears within 15 to 30 minutes after vaccination, so we will have patients wait for a certain period to monitor and respond accordingly." He emphasized, "As the hospital director, I will be the first to get vaccinated to alleviate concerns about the vaccine and increase the vaccination rate."