[Q&A] Actual 'September Vaccination' for Ages 18-49... When to Book and Which Vaccine to Receive

First Introduction of 10-Day Pre-Reservation System... 1.6 Million People Distributed for Reservation Daily

A high school senior taking the college entrance exam is receiving a vaccine at the vaccination center set up at Dongjak-gu Community Sports Center in Seoul on the 21st. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] COVID-19 vaccinations for the age group 18 to 49 years old (born between January 1, 1972, and December 31, 2003) will begin on the 26th of next month. Slightly earlier, local governments will conduct their own vaccinations for 2 million people in the same age group starting from the 17th of next month.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Promotion Team) announced the COVID-19 vaccination plan for August and September on the 30th, which includes these details. Through this plan, the first dose vaccination for 36 million people, equivalent to 70% of the entire population, will be completed by September, aiming to achieve herd immunity by November. Jeong Eun-kyung, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, "By September, the first dose vaccination will be somewhat completed, and since most vaccinations will be done with messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, considering the short interval of about 3 to 4 weeks between doses, the second dose vaccination will be intensively carried out until around October. We will continue to manage to achieve the completion of the second dose vaccination as early as possible."

This plan is promoted with five main goals: ▲ Early achievement of first dose vaccination for 36 million people by September ▲ Rapid vaccination of the active young and middle-aged group aged 18 to 49 ▲ Resolving blind spots through customized vaccination ▲ Increasing vaccination completion rates among the elderly and vaccinating unvaccinated individuals ▲ Improving reservation methods and systems. Below is a Q&A regarding the vaccination implementation plan for August to September.

- Where and which vaccine will the 18-49 age group receive?

▲ The age group between 18 and 49 will receive vaccinations similarly to the earlier elderly group, by making advance reservations and getting vaccinated at their chosen date and institution (designated medical institutions or vaccination centers). The COVID-19 vaccines to be administered are mRNA vaccines: Pfizer and Moderna. Since the supply schedule for each vaccine has not yet been finalized, information on which vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) an individual will receive will be provided after the supply is confirmed.

- What is the vaccination schedule?

▲ The advance reservation period for the 18-49 age group is from August 9 to 18. Vaccinations will be conducted from August 26 to September 30. The health authorities aim to complete the first dose vaccination for this young and middle-aged group by the end of September.

- I heard a 10-day rotation system will be introduced for advance reservations. What is that about?

▲ The number of vaccination candidates aged 18 to 49 reaches 17,773,190. Since long waiting times and errors occurred during the advance reservation for the smaller 50s age group, a 10-day rotation system will be introduced for the first time in this advance reservation to encourage distributed bookings.

The 10-day rotation system uses the last digit of the resident registration number's birthdate. On the reservation day, only those whose birthdate's last digit matches the last digit of the reservation date can make a reservation. For example, if the birthdate is the 7th, 17th, or 27th, the last digit is '7', so the person can make a reservation on August 17, which ends with '7'. If the birthday is March 15, the last digit is '5', so the reservation should be made on August 15. On August 19, an additional reservation opportunity will be provided for those aged 36 to 49, and on August 20 for those aged 18 to 35. On the last day of advance reservation, August 21, all ages 18 to 49 can make reservations. From August 22 to September 17, additional reservations or changes are possible for all candidates who did not participate in the 10-day rotation reservation.

- If the last digit of the birthdate is '8', does that mean the person can only reserve after everyone else, effectively pushing their vaccination date later?

▲ To alleviate such concerns, the authorities evenly divided the reservation capacity for each medical institution by 1/10 for each vaccination date. This is to prevent early reservers from monopolizing specific dates or time slots. Even if someone reserves on the last day of the 10-day rotation system, the 18th, the same reservation capacity as earlier reservers will be available.

- There are concerns about system problems during reservations, as happened with the 50s age group. Is that expected?

▲ Among the 17.77 million vaccination candidates, 2 million will make separate reservations through local government autonomous vaccinations. So, actually, 15.77 million people will participate in the reservation. Dividing into 10 groups means about 1.5 to 1.6 million people will make reservations per day. The authorities will announce additional measures to improve the reservation system, including distribution of reservation candidates, at a later date.

- Some people will receive priority vaccination through local government autonomous vaccinations, is that correct?

▲ The third round of local government autonomous vaccinations will be conducted in August. Local governments autonomously select candidates among the 18-49 age group who are at high risk of infection, vaccination-disadvantaged groups, and essential social workers. Essential workers include public transportation workers, delivery workers, sanitation workers, and call center employees. Vaccination-disadvantaged groups include people with disabilities, foreign workers, and international students. Also, workers in academies and youth-related facilities who have close contact with children and adolescents, as well as indoor sports facility workers, may be included. Facilities with high infection risk such as PC rooms, karaoke rooms, and restaurants are also included. Advance reservations for local government autonomous vaccinations will be held from August 3 to 6, and vaccinations will start slightly earlier from August 17.

- Foreign workers are included in autonomous vaccinations. Why are foreigners given priority when Korean citizens have not yet completed vaccination?

▲ We have already stated that foreigners will be provided vaccination opportunities equally with Korean citizens, and vaccinations are proceeding simultaneously. However, there are vulnerable groups such as unregistered foreigners or those who have not received vaccination information, so local characteristics will be reflected to provide more guidance and vaccinations. Currently, in Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong regions, cluster outbreaks continue among foreign workers living in dormitories and working collectively in manufacturing. The purpose is to control these outbreaks and enhance the safety of the entire population. It is not simply a matter of 'foreigners getting vaccinated before citizens.'

- It was said that the general public aged 18-49 can get vaccinated in August, but it seems vaccinations will actually be in September?

▲ Vaccinations for the general public will start from August 26, but the main vaccinations will be concentrated in September. The health authorities allow local governments to start vaccinations earlier for 2 million people who are judged to need priority vaccination based on the epidemic situation.

- Can those aged 60 and over who did not participate in vaccinations in the first half of the year still get vaccinated?

▲ In principle, after all citizens have been given vaccination opportunities, unvaccinated individuals will be given chances. However, for the elderly aged 60 and over, the risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 is very high. Currently, those aged 75 and over have mostly completed the second dose. Vaccinations for those aged 75 and over have never been stopped and continue steadily through vaccination centers. For those aged 60 to 74, advance reservations will be accepted again from August 2 to 31. Vaccinations will also proceed quickly from August 5. The vaccine type is AstraZeneca, which was administered to this age group in the first half of the year. However, the vaccination interval will be shortened from the previous 10-12 weeks to 8 weeks.

- What are the vaccination plans for adolescents and pregnant women?

▲ After the 18-49 age group vaccinations are completed, the remaining vaccination targets will be children, adolescents, and pregnant women. Safety, efficacy, risks, and benefits are being analyzed, and opinions from vaccination candidates are being collected to establish vaccination plans. Since the number of vaccination candidates is not large, vaccinations can be sufficiently conducted in the fourth quarter. For unvaccinated individuals, after the first dose vaccination is somewhat completed, additional vaccination opportunities may be provided considering vaccine supply.

- What about plans for additional vaccinations (booster shots)?

▲ Today, Israel also announced additional vaccination plans for those aged 60 and over, and some countries are reviewing additional vaccination plans focusing on immunocompromised and high-risk groups. In Korea, the National Institute of Health is continuing research on the duration of immunity together with the medical community. Vaccinations for pregnant women, adolescents, unvaccinated individuals, and additional vaccinations will be reflected in the fourth quarter vaccination plan.