Park Mijeong of Gwangju City Council Raises Concerns Over COVID-19 Vaccination Gap

"Flexible Preventive Measures Needed to Protect High-Risk Groups"
City: "Active Promotion of Prevention Guidelines for High-Risk Groups"

Park Mijeong, Gwangju City Councilor.

Park Mijeong, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Dong-gu District 2), raised concerns about a gap in COVID-19 vaccinations during the first supplementary budget review of the Gwangju City Welfare and Health Bureau on June 24.

Park emphasized, "Vaccinations for the 2024·2025 season will end on June 30, and there will be a gap of about three months until October," adding, "Protective measures for high-risk groups are necessary during this period."

Recently, as signs of a COVID-19 resurgence have appeared in Taiwan, Singapore, and China, the risk of overseas inflow is increasing ahead of the summer vacation season. As of June 18, 960 doses of COVID-19 vaccine remain at public health centers in Gwangju: 60 doses in Dong-gu, 300 in Seo-gu, 200 in Nam-gu, 200 in Buk-gu, and 200 in Gwangsan-gu.

All remaining vaccines after the end of June will be collected by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and both Gwangju City and the agency plan to focus on treatment until vaccinations resume.

In this first supplementary budget, the city allocated 8.23 billion won for new vaccinations for the '2025·2026 season' scheduled to begin in October, with 2.74 billion won newly allocated from the city budget.

Park stressed, "Securing the budget is not enough; a response strategy is needed during the vaccination gap," and added, "It is necessary to establish a flexible response system considering vaccine supply and vaccination timing."

In response, a Gwangju City official explained, "COVID-19 vaccinations are conducted as a seasonal program from October each year to April of the following year, and we are preparing thoroughly for the 2025·2026 season vaccination program."

The official also stated, "From July to September, before the start of the 2025·2026 season vaccinations, we will closely monitor COVID-19 trends, actively promote infection prevention guidelines for high-risk groups, and maintain a rapid response system for outbreaks to protect citizens' health."

Meanwhile, Gwangju City has selected 118,124 people aged 65 and older and immunocompromised individuals as the target group for the '2025·2026 season' vaccinations, which will run from October 2025 to April 2026.