"Two Vaccine-Related Death Cases Occur Today (3rd)... Public Anxiety Expected to Be Significant"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Choi Daejip, president of the Korea Medical Association (KMA), asserted on the 3rd that President Moon Jaein should personally get vaccinated to alleviate public anxiety about the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a post on his Facebook on the same day, President Choi stated, "Two patients who received the AstraZeneca vaccine today have died," adding, "These can be considered 'COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths.' Although causality between vaccination and death has not been established, if there is a temporal sequence and proximity between vaccination and death, it can be defined as such."
He continued, "Causality between vaccination and death has not yet been confirmed," emphasizing, "Clinical data on the two cases should be thoroughly investigated, and if necessary, autopsies should be conducted to verify causality."
President Choi also noted, "The number of Pfizer vaccine doses administered in our country is too small as of today, so no vaccine-related deaths have been reported yet. However, as the number of vaccinations increases, vaccine-related death cases are expected to emerge in the future," adding, "In January, there was controversy when 29 elderly deaths related to Pfizer vaccination occurred in Norway."
He said, "Due to the failure to secure vaccines early, since vaccinations began on February 26, plans are in place to vaccinate 750,000 doses of AstraZeneca and 60,000 doses of Pfizer by the end of March in our country. Although the supplied quantity is limited, vaccinations by the end of March are very important as it is the initial phase," explaining, "This is because it is necessary to increase public trust in safety, efficacy, and promptness of vaccination."
President Choi added, "As expected, two cases of AstraZeneca vaccine-related deaths occurred today, which is likely to cause considerable public anxiety."
He mentioned, "There has been considerable debate about whether and when national leaders should get vaccinated," and said, "It is a good method for national leaders to get vaccinated during the first one to two weeks after vaccination begins to alleviate public anxiety caused by vaccine-related deaths and severe side effects."
He emphasized, "President Moon Jaein is currently over 65 years old and thus not eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine, so I hope he will receive the Pfizer vaccine as soon as tomorrow to help ease public anxiety caused by vaccine-related deaths and severe side effects."
Meanwhile, according to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on the same day, a total of 53 new reports of suspected adverse reactions after COVID-19 vaccination were filed, including two deaths.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
