Additional COVID-19 Winter Vaccinations with 'Gaeryang Vaccine' Starting Next Week

Priority Vaccination for Infection-Vulnerable Facilities, Immunocompromised Individuals, and Those Aged 60 and Over

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Starting from the 11th, COVID-19 updated vaccines capable of responding to the Omicron variant will begin to be administered.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Promotion Team on the 7th, this winter additional vaccination will primarily use the bivalent vaccine based on the Omicron BA.1 variant developed by Moderna, targeting immunocompromised individuals, residents, inpatients, and workers in infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals and care facilities, as well as elderly people aged 60 and above who are health-vulnerable.

The Promotion Team plans to gradually expand the vaccination target to those aged 18 and older who have completed the primary vaccination series (2 doses).

As of midnight on the 6th, 272,431 people aged 60 and above had made advance reservations since the 27th of last month. The reservation rate compared to the total vaccination target is 2.4%.

Those aged 18 to under 60 who have completed the primary vaccination series can receive the updated vaccine booster only if there are leftover vaccines available.

Same-day vaccination can be received after checking and reserving leftover vaccines through medical institution standby lists or SNS platforms such as KakaoTalk and Naver. The method of contacting medical institutions by phone to be placed on the standby list and then receiving same-day vaccination will be available from midnight on the 11th, and same-day vaccination using SNS will be available from 4 p.m. on the 12th.

This updated vaccine booster can only be administered if at least four months have passed since the last vaccine dose or the date of COVID-19 diagnosis.

Baek Kyung-ran, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, emphasized, "To prepare for the winter resurgence of COVID-19 and the simultaneous outbreak of influenza, additional winter vaccinations for infection-vulnerable facilities and health-vulnerable groups such as the elderly are very important," adding, "Considering the vaccination effect, if you are considering an additional vaccination now, we recommend the winter additional vaccination using the bivalent vaccine rather than the 3rd or 4th dose using the existing vaccines."