Low Utilization of System Despite Remaining Preliminary List
[Asia Economy Reporters Seo So-jeong, Kang Na-hum, Lee Chun-hee] "There are so many inquiries about leftover vaccine vaccinations that we are not accepting reservations through Naver or Kakao at all. We are only taking phone inquiries."
At 8:30 a.m. on the 28th, a hospital in Mapo-gu, Seoul, a COVID-19 vaccine entrusted medical institution, was flooded with phone calls from early morning from people seeking leftover vaccines. Since the leftover vaccine reservation service started through Naver and Kakao from the previous day, inquiries from vaccine recipients looking for leftover vaccines at entrusted medical institutions surged.
An official from the hospital said, "Most of the people scheduled to be vaccinated yesterday received their shots as planned, so there is almost no 'no-show' supply," adding, "We are not using the Naver or Kakao system and are only accepting waiting lists by phone."
As the number of vaccine recipients seeking leftover vaccines increases, hospitals have started a busy day from the morning. An official from a hospital in Seodaemun-gu said, "There are currently no leftover vaccines, but we are putting the names of those calling on the waiting list." This hospital had 40 leftover vaccine recipients the previous day. Twenty were from the existing standby list, and 20 were recipients who urgently received 'no-show' vaccines.
A clinic in Guro-gu said, "Two people received leftover vaccines yesterday, but they were from the originally registered standby list, not through Naver or Kakao," adding, "There are still about 20 people left on the existing list, so we do not plan to accept additional names." The clinic official hinted, "Yesterday, there were quite a few inquiry calls saying leftover vaccines near their homes were not showing up at all, but we told them to wait for now."
Even if the system shows '0', calling can often lead to leftover vaccines being available
Even if leftover vaccines show as '0' on Naver or Kakao, there are cases where people get lucky and receive vaccinations. Mr. Kim, a man in his 40s living in Jongno-gu, said, "I called the hospital I usually go to just in case today, and I heard that there was exactly one leftover vaccine available around 11 a.m. today," adding, "A previously scheduled recipient canceled just now due to poor condition, so I plan to get vaccinated today."
Naver and Kakao started the leftover vaccine reservation service from 1 p.m. the previous day. Naver launched the ‘Our Neighborhood Vaccine Alert Service,’ allowing users to check the real-time quantity of leftover vaccines at nearby medical institutions and make vaccination reservations via the Naver app, Naver Map app, and Naver mobile web. It also provided a feature where users who pre-register entrusted medical institutions for vaccination can receive alerts when leftover vaccines become available.
KakaoTalk enabled users to check information on nearby entrusted medical institutions with leftover vaccines in real time and make reservations through the ‘Leftover Vaccine’ tab in the # tab. However, confusion has continued on the second day following the first day of service. Although the app indicates leftover vaccines are available, confusion arises nationwide due to vaccines actually not being available.
Many entrusted medical institutions still use existing standby lists and do not actively utilize Naver or Kakao, so even if leftover vaccines are available, the app often shows '0'. The quarantine authorities explained, "This is understood to be because entrusted medical institutions have not yet registered leftover vaccines," adding, "Most registrations are expected to occur just before the entrusted medical institutions finish vaccinations."
According to the authorities, 58,000 people were vaccinated through the entrusted medical institutions' own standby lists the previous day, and 4,229 people were vaccinated through the same-day reservation function. Among the same-day reservation function users, 3,935 were via Naver and 294 via Kakao.
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