[Becoming an Insurance Insider] 700,000 COVID-19 Vaccinations... Is There No Insurance Covering Side Effects?

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[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The Macau branch of Portuguese insurer Fidelidade has launched a product that covers side effects such as death or permanent disability after COVID-19 vaccination. Insured persons aged 16 to 85 can be covered for 30 days after vaccination. For those aged 70 and over, the product pays 50% of the coverage amount. Macau has secured 650,000 doses of vaccines from pharmaceutical companies such as China National Pharmaceutical Group and AstraZeneca and is implementing a voluntary vaccination program.

The number of COVID-19 vaccine recipients is approaching 700,000. As the number of vaccinated people increases, so do those reporting side effects. While overseas insurance companies have introduced insurance covering COVID vaccine side effects, there is still no related movement in the domestic insurance industry.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team on the 21st, as of midnight that day, an additional 939 people were vaccinated. The cumulative total reached 676,587, with a vaccination rate of 84.6% among priority vaccination targets.

Among vaccine recipients, 619,100 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 57,487 received the Pfizer vaccine. The vaccination rate compared to the domestic population (52 million) is about 1.30%.

Reports of suspected adverse reactions after vaccination are also increasing. As of midnight on the 20th, the cumulative number of adverse reaction reports after vaccination was 9,757.

Among the adverse reactions, 9,641 cases were investigated as common symptoms after vaccination such as muscle pain, headache, fever, chills, and nausea. 89 cases were suspected anaphylaxis, and 11 cases (1 new case) were reported as suspected severe cases such as seizures.

Among suspected anaphylaxis cases, 84 were anaphylactoid reactions, and there were a total of 5 anaphylactic shock cases. Of the 11 suspected severe cases, neurological reactions such as seizures increased by 1 from the previous day to 4 cases, and 7 cases were admitted to intensive care units.

The Promotion Team emphasized that reports of adverse reactions and deaths after vaccination have not been confirmed to be causally related to the vaccine and stated that epidemiological investigations will be conducted to determine causality.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Overseas, governments and insurers are also strengthening coverage for side effects as COVID-19 vaccinations begin.

In Japan, nearly 500 million KRW in compensation is paid in case of death due to COVID-19 vaccine side effects.

On the 19th, Norihisa Tamura, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, announced at the House of Representatives Budget Committee that if a COVID-19 vaccine recipient dies due to side effects, the government will pay a lump sum of 44.2 million yen (approximately 463.2 million KRW) under the health damage relief system.

Seven life insurance companies in Singapore, including AIA, Axa, and Aviva, have launched products that cover hospitalization due to complications related to the COVID-19 vaccine.

In particular, Great Eastern Life (GEL) provides insurance payments to its customers, employees, and their families, and existing customers enrolled in its medical insurance are also covered for hospitalization and treatment due to COVID-19 and vaccines.

Meanwhile, in Korea, insurance for infectious diseases such as COVID-19 is being sold.

Kyobo Lifeplanet launched insurance in January that covers death from specific infectious diseases such as COVID-19. This infectious disease-specialized insurance covers death from major specific infectious diseases including COVID-19, MERS, and SARS. For a premium of 500 KRW, it provides coverage of up to 20 million KRW in death benefits with a one-year term without additional costs.