Park Soo-hyun Urges COVID-19 Vaccination for Adolescents
"Continuously Securing Beds for Severe and Critical Patients"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Park Soo-hyun, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, emphasized that "our country ranks first in the world for overwhelmingly compensating vaccine adverse reactions" and encouraged COVID-19 vaccination among adolescents.
On the 15th, Park appeared on KBS's 'Sasa Geongeon' and stated, "In the case of adolescents, except for cases where there is medically no clear causality, we intend to recognize adverse reactions as broadly as possible," adding, "We understand parents' concerns, but it is better not to worry excessively."
Park further explained, "There is a misconception that our country does not provide sufficient compensation for damages, but in reality, our country compensates overwhelmingly more. So far, we have compensated for 2,800 cases of adverse reactions," and added, "(In contrast) the United States has 1 case, and Sweden has 10 cases."
Regarding the ruling party and government’s decision to consider a 'pre-support, post-settlement' approach for COVID-19 loss compensation, he agreed, saying, "It is necessary to clearly convey the message that the government will take definite responsibility." However, concerning the preparation of an additional supplementary budget for this, he reserved his position, stating, "That method can be considered, but nothing has been decided yet. The government is still deliberating."
In response to criticism about the shortage of severe and critical patient beds, he replied, "We are continuously expanding bed capacity through several administrative orders," adding, "Our country usually has an ICU bed occupancy rate exceeding 70% due to general illnesses, which is causing delays in expanding beds."
Meanwhile, the government announced strengthened social distancing measures on the 16th. The allowed number of private gatherings was reduced to up to 4 people, and operating hours for restaurants and cafes were restricted until 9 p.m., among other measures.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office on the 16th and stated, "We judged that only by quickly suppressing the spread through strong social distancing measures can we overcome this critical moment."
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