'Omicron Response' Updated Vaccine Pre-Booking Sees Over 40,000 Reservations on First Day

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 27th, the day the pre-registration for the updated vaccine (bivalent vaccine) against the COVID-19 Omicron variant began, over 40,000 people participated in the reservation.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, as of 5 p.m. that day, 44,142 people had reserved the bivalent vaccine. Previously, the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team established a winter additional COVID-19 vaccination plan prioritizing the elderly aged 60 and over, immunocompromised individuals, workers in infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals and facilities, and mental health promotion facilities, considering the bivalent vaccine research results and overseas trends to prepare for the winter resurgence.

From the 11th of next month, priority groups will receive vaccinations through pre-registration and same-day vaccination. The total number of people eligible for priority vaccination is about 13 million. The Promotion Team also announced that it will establish and announce vaccination plans soon for secondary priority groups such as people in their 50s, those with underlying diseases, healthcare workers, and group facilities (military recruits, correctional facilities, etc.), as well as tertiary priority groups including adults aged 18 to 49. However, same-day vaccination using leftover vaccines can be applied for by those not included in the priority groups (secondary and tertiary) if they have completed the primary vaccination series.

This vaccination uses the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) bivalent vaccine developed based on the Omicron sublineage BA.1 variant. The Moderna bivalent vaccine, which received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and has been introduced since the 15th, will be administered first. The Pfizer BA.1-based bivalent vaccine, which has not yet been introduced domestically, will also be used for vaccination as soon as the import procedures are completed. For those who cannot receive mRNA vaccines or prefer not to, protein recombinant vaccines such as Novavax will be used as supplementary options.

Same-day vaccination can be reserved through private social media platforms such as Naver and Kakao or by checking the medical institution’s standby list via phone before applying.