Vaccination Rate of Updated Vaccine for Seniors Aged 60 and Over at 31.2%... Encouraging Vaccination in High-Risk Facilities

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Amid sluggish uptake of the updated vaccine among seniors aged 60 and over and in high-risk facilities, health authorities are holding additional vaccination briefing sessions for staff at nursing hospitals and facilities to encourage vaccination.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Task Force announced on the 5th that it will hold additional vaccination briefing sessions over two days, on the 11th and 12th, targeting managers of nursing hospitals and nursing facilities.

As of now, the winter additional vaccination rate stands at 31.2% for those aged 60 and above and 54.8% for infection-vulnerable facilities, falling short of the targets of 50% and 60% set by the end of last year.

Health authorities reported that 15.8% of deaths in the fourth week of last month occurred in nursing hospitals and facilities, and that the proportion of suspected reinfection cases among weekly confirmed cases in nursing hospitals and facilities in the third week of last month reached 47.3%, highlighting the need for active vaccination participation.

This briefing session is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), with nursing hospital and facility managers, local association officials, and relevant departments from local governments and the Ministry of Health and Welfare participating via online video conference. The session will provide the latest information on the necessity, effectiveness, and safety of the bivalent vaccine and collect feedback from the field.

Ji Young-mi, Commissioner of the KDCA, stated, "For those aged 60 and above and residents or inpatients of infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals and facilities, prevention through winter additional vaccination is of utmost importance," adding, "Considering the recent increase in severe cases and deaths, as well as the uncertain epidemic situation in China, please actively participate in the winter additional vaccination to protect yourself, your family, and your neighbors’ safety and health."

Meanwhile, since the start of COVID-19 vaccinations, 481,873 adverse events have been reported as of the 1st, which corresponds to 3.6 cases per 1,000 vaccinations. Among these, 96% were common events such as injection site pain and fever. For the bivalent updated vaccine, the adverse event reporting rate was 0.35 cases per 1,000 vaccinations.