88% of Hospital-Level and Above Staff Agree to COVID-19 Vaccination

On the 4th, COVID-19 AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccinations were administered to medical staff in a lecture room at Seoul National University Children's Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. A total of about 50 medical personnel received the vaccine that day. Medical staff are preparing for vaccination. 20210304 / Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] On the 4th, AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination began for healthcare workers at hospital-level and higher medical institutions nationwide, with 88% of the target group agreeing to be vaccinated.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team as of midnight on the 4th, among 306,924 eligible individuals at 1,668 hospital-level and higher medical institutions nationwide, 270,141 expressed their consent to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. The vaccination consent rate was 88.0%.

The vaccination targets are healthcare professionals affiliated with these medical institutions, including doctors, dentists, Korean medicine doctors, nurses, midwives, as well as nursing assistants, medical technicians, emergency medical technicians, pharmacists, Korean herbal pharmacists, nutritionists, sanitary workers, and health educators. Among them, medical staff directly treating COVID-19 patients at infectious disease-dedicated hospitals or base hospitals will receive the Pfizer vaccine, while the remaining affiliated workers will be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Promotion Team stated, "As the vaccination targets have been confirmed, vaccines have been sequentially delivered since the 3rd," adding, "The goal is to complete vaccinations within 5 days starting from the day after receipt, the 4th." Accordingly, vaccination for hospital-level and higher medical institution workers began at 9 a.m. on the same day, starting with Seoul National University Hospital Director Kim Yeon-su in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Vaccines not administered due to refusal or health reasons can be given to other affiliated workers outside healthcare professionals. To this end, the Promotion Team guided institutions to prepare their own preliminary vaccination lists. These preliminary vaccination targets include waste disposal and environmental cleaning workers, patient transport workers, medical support staff, and other personnel considered high-risk due to frequent contact with patients.

On the 4th, COVID-19 AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine administration was conducted for medical staff in a lecture room at Seoul National University Children's Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. A total of about 50 medical staff received the vaccine that day. Kim Yeonsu, the director of Seoul National University Hospital, is receiving the vaccine. 20210304 / Photo by Joint Press Corps

The 88.0% vaccination consent rate among hospital-level medical institutions disclosed on this day is somewhat lower compared to other priority vaccination groups, most of which recorded consent rates in the 90% range.

For other priority groups, as of the 25th of last month, the consent rate for vaccination among residents and workers under 65 years old in nursing hospitals was 92.8%, and for elderly nursing facilities and mental health rehabilitation facilities, it was 95.5%. Among COVID-19 patient treatment hospitals, 95.8% of the target group agreed to vaccination.

Regarding this, Jeong Gyeong-sil, head of the Vaccination Management Division, explained, "In the case of nursing hospitals and facilities, there has been significant exposure to risks such as group infections and deaths among the elderly, so many healthcare workers have participated in vaccination to protect the elderly," adding, "Hospital-level and higher medical institutions include tertiary general hospitals, general hospitals, and hospital-level facilities. They encompass specialized hospitals such as ophthalmology or orthopedics and hospitals focused mainly on outpatient care, so there may be differences in concerns about infection and other factors, which could cause some variation in vaccination consent rates."