Five More 'Post-Vaccination Confirmed' Breakthrough Infection Cases... All Received Pfizer Vaccine (Update)

Five More Confirmed After Ten Days Since the 21st of Last Month...Total 9 Cases

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Five additional cases of 'breakthrough infections'?where individuals test positive for COVID-19 after receiving two doses of the vaccine?have been reported in South Korea.

On the 3rd, Kwon Jun-wook, the 2nd Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated at the regular COVID-19 briefing, "Among 1,039,559 people in the country who completed vaccination more than 14 days ago, there are currently 9 suspected breakthrough infection cases. The 5 newly confirmed cases are all Pfizer vaccine recipients, and further analysis is underway to determine whether they are infected with variant strains."

As of midnight on the 31st of last month, there have been a total of 9 breakthrough infection cases domestically. This marks an increase of 5 cases over ten days, following the 4 cases confirmed as of midnight on the 21st of last month.

Based on a rate per 100,000 people, this equates to approximately 0.87 cases. This is significantly lower compared to the United States, which reports about 10.2 cases per 100,000 people.

All 9 domestic breakthrough infection cases involved Pfizer vaccine recipients. Genetic analysis was conducted on the earlier 4 cases, which showed no evidence of variant infections. Authorities are currently verifying whether the new breakthrough cases involve variants.

Deputy Director Kwon explained, "The reason why South Korea has fewer breakthrough infection cases compared to overseas, especially the United States, is because the scale of community infections is much lower here. Additionally, in the U.S., major variants including the UK variant and other variants have already replaced the existing dominant strains, leading to a situation where variants capable of evading vaccines are widespread."

He continued, "Although all breakthrough cases in South Korea so far have been Pfizer vaccine recipients, the number of people fully vaccinated with Pfizer is about three times higher than those vaccinated with AstraZeneca domestically. Theoretically, breakthrough infections can also occur among those vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine."

Meanwhile, the 5 newly added breakthrough infection cases are all elderly individuals in their 70s and 80s. Among them, 3 are women and 2 are men. Previously confirmed cases included one person in their 20s, one in their 30s, and two in their 50s. Regarding the regions where breakthrough infections occurred, there are 3 cases in Gyeonggi, 2 in Seoul, and one each in Busan, Chungbuk, Gyeongnam, and Jeju.