The health authorities confirmed the safety of the bivalent vaccine through domestic and international studies and urged immunocompromised individuals to participate in the additional COVID-19 vaccination during the winter season.
According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 2nd, as of the 1st, the additional vaccination rate for immunocompromised individuals during the winter season was 29.6%, which is lower than that of infection-vulnerable facilities (61.7%) and the elderly aged 60 and above (35.0%). Immunocompromised individuals refer to patients with diseases such as hematologic cancers, those who have undergone organ transplant surgery and are taking immunosuppressants, and patients within two years after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
The health authorities introduced research findings showing that immunocompromised individuals have more than three times higher risk of death from COVID-19 infection compared to the general population. Accordingly, active vaccination is necessary for immunocompromised individuals to prevent COVID-19. The safety has also been confirmed. The adverse event reporting rate for vaccines among immunocompromised individuals is 3.33 cases per 1,000, which is lower than the overall reporting rate of 3.56 cases. For the bivalent vaccine alone, it is 0.46 cases per 1,000, about one-eighth that of the monovalent vaccine. In a Polish study targeting children who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, antibody levels increased to a level similar to that of healthy children after two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and reported adverse reactions did not differ from those in healthy children. Studies conducted on cancer patients in the UK and the US also demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
A CDCH official said, "Considering the high risk of severe illness and death upon infection, research results on vaccination effectiveness and safety, and the low adverse event reporting rate after vaccination, we hope immunocompromised individuals actively participate in the additional vaccination during the winter season."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
