Pfizer and Moderna Recipients Who Received Janssen... Booster Shot May Be Moved Up to November

Announcement of Naeju Additional Vaccination Plan

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the 21st (local time) recommended booster shots for Janssen and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, prompting our government to expedite booster shots for Janssen recipients. In the case of domestic Janssen vaccine recipients, vaccinations began in June, and the booster shot timing is due six months later in December, but the government is actively considering moving this up to November.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 22nd, the government plans to finalize and announce the booster shot plan for Janssen vaccine recipients next week through the Vaccination Expert Committee. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an advisory body of the U.S. CDC, held a meeting that day and decided to recommend booster shots for Janssen and Moderna vaccines. This is the same decision as the FDA's on the 20th, which stated that those aged 18 and over who have passed two months since receiving the Janssen vaccine are eligible for a booster shot.

With the approval results from the U.S. FDA and CDC, the government is preparing a booster shot plan for Janssen vaccine recipients. The recent increase in breakthrough infections domestically is also contributing to advancing the implementation plan. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, breakthrough infections, which were only 2 cases in April, surged to 8,911 last month as the Delta variant spread. The cumulative estimated breakthrough infection cases stand at 16,972 out of 23,174,126 fully vaccinated individuals in Korea (as of October 10), which is about 0.073%, but breakthrough infections are increasing mainly among active people in their 30s. In particular, recent research shows that the preventive effect of the Janssen vaccine is 88% immediately after vaccination but drops to only 3% after five months.

Hong Jeong-ik, head of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team's Vaccination Management Team, said the day before, "We will announce the Janssen booster shot plan next week," adding, "We are reviewing the basis for the U.S. decision to set the interval for Janssen booster shots at two months." The government plans to administer booster shots for Janssen recipients using messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna, but is also considering homologous Janssen vaccine boosters.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated in his opening remarks at the Recovery Support Committee meeting held at the Government Seoul Office that morning, "The vaccination completion rate will exceed 70% of the entire population as early as tomorrow (the 23rd)." The government plans to hold a public hearing on the 25th ahead of the transition to a phased recovery of daily life (With Corona) next month, where it will disclose the government's draft response system for the post-transition quarantine and medical sectors.