From the 17th, second doses available with leftover vaccines
Pfizer after first dose from 3 weeks, Moderna from 4 weeks onward
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government is considering shortening the interval between doses of messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna, which had been extended up to 6 weeks. The quarantine authorities are cautious about uniformly adjusting the interval between the first and second doses, citing the need to consider vaccine supply schedules. However, as the spread of variant viruses requires rapidly increasing the vaccination completion rate, they have opened the possibility of using leftover vaccines for the second dose to advance the vaccination schedule.
According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, from the 17th, same-day reservations for leftover vaccines for the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines became available through SNS platforms such as Naver and Kakao apps. Previously, leftover vaccines could only be reserved and administered for the first dose, but as the cumulative first-dose vaccination rate exceeded 70% of the total population, the scope of leftover vaccine use has been expanded to include the second dose.
Accordingly, if one succeeds in reserving a leftover vaccine, the second dose can be administered within the approved interval range for each vaccine authorized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The Pfizer vaccine allows the second dose 3 weeks after the first dose, and the Moderna vaccine allows it 4 weeks after the first dose.
In addition to same-day SNS reservations, medical institution standby lists can also be used. Especially for leftover vaccine administration through standby lists, it was previously only possible at the medical institution where the first dose was received, but now one can register their name on the standby lists of all medical institutions with leftover vaccines and receive the vaccination there. When reserving a leftover vaccine, the existing second dose reservation is automatically canceled.
Meanwhile, the second dose of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine can be adjusted between 4 to 12 weeks depending on personal circumstances. Currently, the standard interval for the second AZ dose is 8 weeks from the first dose, but from the 28th of this month, it will be possible to change the reservation date within this range. However, to allow vaccination preparation at entrusted medical institutions, reservations can only be made from two days after the date of system access. For example, if accessing the system on the 28th, the second dose reservation can be made for dates from the 30th onward.
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