Authorities: "Vaccination reservation rate for ages 70-74 at 51.6%... Ages 65-69 at 38.4% in just three days"

Over Half of 70-74 Age Group Booked Within One Week of Pre-Reservation

On the morning of the 3rd, a medical worker is aliquoting the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Yongsan-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The COVID-19 vaccination reservation rate for the elderly aged 70 to 74 has surpassed the majority within one week. The reservation rate for those aged 65 to 69, who had a three-day pre-reservation period, was 38.4%.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated at the COVID-19 briefing on the 13th, "The vaccination reservation rate for those aged 70 to 74 is 51.6% over one week, and for those aged 65 to 69, after about three days, the reservation rate reached 38.4%. Out of a total of 5.13 million eligible people, 2.25 million, or 43.9%, have completed their reservations."

Previously, the pre-reservations for COVID-19 vaccinations for the 70 to 74 and 65 to 69 age groups began earlier this month. Reservations for these age groups will continue until the 3rd of next month, and actual vaccinations will be administered from the 27th of this month to the 19th of next month. Additionally, reservations for those aged 60 to 64 started from today. Similarly, reservations will be accepted until the 3rd of next month, with vaccinations scheduled from June 7 to 19.

Mr. Son added, "Vaccine supply is currently proceeding without major issues. Now, the key is not the supply but how many people make reservations and actually get vaccinated."

He continued, "While concerns about side effects are understandable, the occurrence of rare thrombosis is 3 to 10 cases per one million people, which is negligible compared to the fatality rate of COVID-19," emphasizing again. He also said, "The Pfizer vaccine, which is currently in the second dose phase, induces a stronger immune response at the second dose, so some elderly people vaccinated this time may experience fever or body aches. This might be surprising, but these are typical immune responses for such vaccines, and symptoms usually disappear within a day or two, so please make sure to get vaccinated."