Smooth vaccinations raise hope for 'return to normal life'

A medical worker passes by a state-run COVID-19 vaccination center run by the National Medical Center in central Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap

No severe reactions reported after vaccinations

By Jun Ji-hye

The government's COVID-19 inoculation program proceeded smoothly for the third day, Sunday, raising hope among members of the public that their lives may return to normal and that they will be able to go out freely without wearing a face mask.

AstraZeneca's vaccines began to be administered to workers and patients under the age of 65 at geriatric hospitals and nursing homes, Friday, while the administering of Pfizer's vaccine began the following day for medical and other workers at hospitals designated to treat COVID-19 patients.

"The vaccine management, storage and vaccination process at the site was enough to give trust to all citizens. I would like to convey to the people the hope that a return to normal life is not far off," President Moon Jae-in wrote on social media after a visit to a public health center in Seoul, Friday, to check on the vaccination process.

Concerns had mounted over the safety of vaccines before the inoculation program began, as the vaccines have been developed only recently. But any severe reactions such as anaphylaxis have yet to be reported, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

According to the KDCA, the country added 356 more COVID-19 cases, including 334 local infections, for Saturday, raising the cumulative number of cases to 89,676, amid the ongoing third wave of infections that began here in mid-November.

The new daily case decreased from 415 identified Friday, due mainly to fewer tests over the weekend. Health authorities said the latest fall in the number of virus patients can hardly be seen as a sign of slowdown in infections, as sporadic cases have continued to be reported across the country, including a cluster of 191 patients traced to a plastic factory in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.

Eight more patients died from the disease, raising the death toll to 1,603.

Foreign COVID-19 patients on steep rise in Korea this year

2021-02-28 09:42 | Health & Science

COVID-19 vaccines transported to Ulleung Island via military helicopter

2021-02-28 15:21 | Health & Science

The KDCA said the government's vaccination program has been going according to plan, noting that a total of 20,322 people across the country have received vaccinations as of Saturday ― 20,022 got their first shots of the two-dose AstraZeneca vaccine, while 300 received their first shots of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine.

The administering of the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be completed at geriatric hospitals by March 5, and at nursing homes by the end of next month.

Medical and other workers at COVID-19 hospitals will receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine by March 20.

A sanitary worker working at wards designated to treat COVID-19 patients receives the first shot of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine at a state-run vaccination center run by the National Medical Center in central Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap

The KDCA said 365,000 people across the country will be vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of next month.

"We have taken our first step toward returning to normal life with the beginning of the inoculation program, but we should not relax yet until before the country achieves herd immunity," a KDCA official said.

The government is aiming to get seven out of 10 people in the country vaccinated by November so herd immunity can be achieved around that time.

The KDCA noted that 112 cases of abnormal reactions have been reported after vaccinations as of Saturday, but they were all minor symptoms such as headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. Among the cases, 111 were reported after the administering of AstraZeneca's vaccine.

"We have yet to find the cause-and-effect relationship between those symptoms and vaccinations," the KDCA official said. "We will carry out an epidemiological investigation if any severe reactions such as death and anaphylaxis are reported."

For its part, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has begun its review to approve the use of vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen.

The government has secured vaccines for 79 million people from five global pharmaceutical companies ― Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Novavax ― and via the COVAX facility, the WHO-led global vaccine distribution project. The number is enough to cover Korea's entire population.

Experts stressed the need for people to continue complying with social distancing and antivirus measures to prevent additional outbreaks, warning against premature feelings of relief.

"It is just the beginning of inoculations. The spread of infections has yet to be stemmed, and there could be problems in delivery of vaccines," said Chun Eun-mi, a pulmonologist at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital. "It may take time to achieve herd immunity as new COVID-19 variants could pose another problem."