[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Vaccinations are being promoted for people with developmental disabilities, hospitalized patients, seafarers, and homeless individuals who have had difficulty receiving COVID-19 vaccinations due to social and physical constraints.
Jung Eun-kyung, head of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), announced at the regular briefing of the KDCA on the 30th, "In the third quarter, large-scale vaccinations targeting the general public will be actively promoted, but tailored measures will be prepared for groups who face difficulties participating in vaccinations due to physical and social constraints," unveiling the 'COVID-19 Vaccination Implementation Plan for August-September' on the same day.
Among the newly announced vaccination plan targets totaling 19.95 million people, excluding 17,773,190 general citizens aged 18-49, there are ▲296,000 people including those with developmental disabilities and users of vocational rehabilitation facilities for the disabled ▲10,000 seafarers and international navigation workers ▲1,860,900 unvaccinated elderly (600,000 aged 75 and above, 1,269,000 aged 60-74), etc.
Approximately 296,000 people, including about 248,000 people with developmental disabilities who find it difficult to comply with quarantine rules, about 34,000 people with disabilities at high risk of severe progression such as heart and liver disabilities, and 14,000 users of vocational rehabilitation facilities with a high risk of infection due to group living, will be vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccines starting from the 26th of next month. Pre-booking for these groups will begin on the 5th of next month. In addition to the COVID-19 vaccination pre-booking system, call centers and on-site reservations at public health centers will also be available.
Also, for patients currently hospitalized in medical institutions due to severe illnesses or those who frequently visit outpatient clinics for chemotherapy, as well as their caregivers and guardians, autonomous vaccination within hospitals will be promoted to provide vaccination convenience. Medical institutions wishing to conduct autonomous vaccinations will be designated through a demand survey in early August, and vaccinations will be carried out with Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines during August and September.
Priority vaccination will also be implemented for 10,000 international navigation workers who live on board for extended periods and are at high risk of COVID-19 outbreaks due to the so-called '3Cs' environment?close contact, crowded places, and confined spaces. Director Jung stated, "International navigation workers can receive same-day vaccination without prior reservation by presenting their seafarer’s book or employment contract at designated public health centers in key regions."
The promotion team explained that most of these vaccinations are conducted for essential travel purposes, but some workers mainly live on board and have short stays in Korea, making prior reservations difficult or causing them to miss vaccination schedules.
Furthermore, to reduce the risk of infection or transmission through daily life, vaccinations will also be promoted for homeless individuals whose resident registration numbers have been deleted and unregistered foreigners who cannot make reservations during general public pre-booking due to lack of entry records. These individuals will be guided to receive vaccinations through on-site visits to public health centers and through facilities they frequently visit.
Vaccinations for these groups will be carried out using Janssen or mRNA vaccines. Janssen vaccines can be administered immediately at public health centers, but mRNA vaccines require prior reservation and vaccination at vaccination centers. Director Jung explained, "We plan to utilize the Janssen vaccine, which requires only one dose, especially for those who find it difficult to receive two doses." For seafarers embarking on long international voyages, it is difficult to return in time for the second dose schedule, and for homeless and unregistered foreigners, contact is difficult or their whereabouts are uncertain, so the Janssen vaccine, which completes vaccination with a single dose, will be actively used.
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