Unvaccinated Against COVID-19 Have Over 5 Times Higher Mortality Rate Than Those with Fourth Dose

Health Authorities: "Additional Vaccinations Reduce the Risk of Reinfection"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As COVID-19 reinfections are increasing, it has been found that both initial infections and reinfections can reduce the severity and mortality rates through vaccination.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 8th, an analysis of about 26 million confirmed cases from April last year to last month showed that the severity rate (including death) among unvaccinated confirmed cases was 1.38%, while it was 0.45% and 0.08% for those confirmed after completing the 2nd and 3rd doses, respectively.

The severity rate of unvaccinated confirmed cases was 3.1 times higher than that of confirmed cases after completing the 2nd dose and 17.3 times higher than that of confirmed cases after completing the 3rd dose.

The CDCH stated, "Even if confirmed after completing the 3rd dose, the risk of progressing to severe illness is reduced by 94.2% compared to unvaccinated individuals, and the risk of severe progression is reduced by 67.4% for those confirmed after the 2nd dose. Especially, completing the 3rd dose is important for the elderly and those with underlying conditions."

The preventive effect against death continues to be confirmed in the 4th dose group as well. According to the CDCH, during the first week of October (October 2?8), when the Omicron BA.5 variant was dominant, the age-standardized mortality rate among unvaccinated confirmed cases was 0.65 per 100,000 person-days (a unit representing the total observation period of individuals in days).

The mortality rate for the 2nd dose group was 0.36 per 100,000 person-days, and for the 3rd and 4th dose groups, it was 0.13 and 0.12, respectively. This means the mortality rate of the unvaccinated group was 1.8 times higher than the 2nd dose group, 5.0 times higher than the 3rd dose group, and 5.4 times higher than the 4th dose group.

Vaccination also reduced the risk of reinfection and severe illness. As of the 4th week of last month (November 20?26), the proportion of suspected reinfection cases among new confirmed cases rose to 13.29%, and the age-standardized mortality risk for second infections was 1.72 times higher than for first infections.

Baek Kyung-ran, head of the CDCH (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), said, "During the period when Omicron was dominant, the proportion of reinfections increased, and the risk of death upon reinfection was also higher. Vaccination lowers reinfection and severe progression, so even those with past infection history need to be vaccinated according to the recommended schedule."