Jung Daebon "Slight Increase in COVID-19 Severity and Fatality Rates... Urging Additional Vaccinations"

Confirmed Cases and Severe/Critical Cases Decrease

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Recently, the severity rate and fatality rate of COVID-19 have shown a slight increase. Accordingly, the government has once again emphasized vaccination for high-risk groups.

On the 15th, Kim Seong-ho, the 2nd General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and Head of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated at a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held at the Government Sejong 2 Complex, "The average daily number of confirmed cases last week was 13,553, and the number of new critically ill patients was 222," adding, "These figures represent decreases of 36% and 28%, respectively, compared to the 4th week of January before the mask-wearing mandate was adjusted."

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the infection reproduction number remains below 1 for six consecutive weeks at 0.81, and the ICU bed occupancy rate is in the 20% range, indicating a stable quarantine situation.

However, Director Kim emphasized that since the severity rate and fatality rate have slightly increased, it is necessary to raise the prescription rate of therapeutics and vaccination rate among high-risk groups.

The severity rate for all ages rose from 0.22% in the 3rd week of January to 0.25% in the 4th week of January, and for those aged 60 and above, it increased from 0.68% to 0.85% during the same period. The fatality rate for all ages increased from 0.09% to 0.11%, and for those aged 60 and above, it rose from 0.30% to 0.39% between the 3rd and 4th weeks of January.

As a countermeasure, the government plans to expand the number of pharmacies responsible for therapeutics to about 6,000 by the end of this month, provide location information services, and strengthen accessibility to oral therapeutics.

Additionally, recent analysis showed that among confirmed cases, those who completed the bivalent vaccine series had a 92.1% reduced risk of severe illness compared to unvaccinated individuals, underscoring the need for vaccination among high-risk groups.

Director Kim said, "As the effectiveness of the bivalent vaccine has been confirmed once again, we ask high-risk groups, such as those aged 60 and above who have not yet received the additional winter booster, to participate in vaccination as soon as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.