SKT to Assist COVID-19 Vaccinations Using AI

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] SK Telecom is assisting COVID-19 vaccination through an AI-based phone notification system. It plans to develop the system within the second quarter and supply it to local governments starting from the third quarter.

On the 8th, SK Telecom announced that it signed an agreement with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to build and operate the ‘NUGU vaccine carecall’ system to support COVID-19 vaccination.

The NUGU vaccine carecall is a system where SK Telecom’s AI assistant NUGU calls COVID-19 vaccine recipients in advance to inform them of their vaccination schedule and monitors for any adverse symptoms after vaccination.

Built on the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) mobile network, the AI agent allows vaccine recipients to use the service via phone without any separate application or device, while healthcare providers can access it through a dedicated website. When a healthcare provider logs into the NUGU vaccine carecall website and registers contacts, the system calls the recipients to provide pre-vaccination schedule information and post-vaccination symptom checks, then uploads the recipients’ responses to the website to be delivered to the provider.

This is expected to easily provide vaccination information to digitally marginalized groups such as the elderly. Additionally, it is anticipated to reduce the workload of staff at COVID-19 vaccination centers and entrusted medical institutions.

Hyun-A Lee, Head of AI&CO at SK Telecom, said, “We will continue to explore ways for SK Telecom’s AI technology to contribute to creating ESG value across society.” Jung Eun-kyung, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, stated, “Elderly people who find it difficult to use smartphones will be able to receive vaccination-related information more easily.”