Omicron "Please Cooperate with Third Dose and Child Vaccination"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 28th, President Moon Jae-in stated, "The Republic of Korea has continuously advanced despite the hardships and twists in its modern and contemporary history," citing 'unified capabilities' as the key to success. This is interpreted as a message of 'national unity' ahead of his meeting with President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.
On the same day, President Moon presided over a senior secretaries and advisors meeting at the Blue House and said, "Unified capabilities have been the driving force behind the success of the Republic of Korea."
President Moon emphasized that South Korea has become a powerhouse not only in economic and military strength but also in soft power, ranking within the top 10 globally in various fields, stating, "This is the result of successive governments inheriting the achievements of their predecessors and complementing and developing the areas that were lacking."
This is interpreted as emphasizing the need for the next government to progressively inherit the achievements of the Moon administration.
He added, "Our proud achievements made by our people should not be denied because of our shortcomings," and said, "Standing on the positive evaluation that Korea's history is overall a successful history, we can prevent history from regressing and move toward greater success."
He also stressed, "There are still many areas where we lag behind, and there are significant disparities in development across sectors. These are tasks that any government must further develop."
Regarding the COVID-19 situation, he assessed, "Recently, as Omicron has passed its peak, the spread is gradually slowing down," and "The number of critically ill patients is being managed much more stably than initially feared."
However, he added, "We have not yet overcome the critical point," and "The government will make special efforts to suppress the number of critically ill and deaths so as not to exceed our medical response capacity and the availability of severe care beds."
President Moon urged, "I ask the people to cooperate just a little more even though it is difficult," and said, "Although the government is easing social distancing and quarantine measures, increasing the responsibility of voluntary quarantine is necessary to achieve the expected effects."
He particularly requested active cooperation for the third vaccination and child vaccinations. President Moon said, "While the first and second dose vaccination rates are very high, the third dose vaccination rate has recently stagnated," and added, "The government recommends the third dose and child vaccinations because the risk of side effects from vaccination is much smaller than the risk of infection," asking for cooperation.
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