Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Korea speeding up vaccination by expanding AZ inoculation
A medical worker at Asan Medical Center in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, receives a coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca, March. 5. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea's nationwide COVID-19 vaccine rollout is expected pick up speed following a government decision to allow the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged over 65.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced Thursday the amended approval for the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it had initially limited due to a lack of clinical data on efficacy in the elderly when the vaccination program started Feb. 26
The decision follows the release of recent studies conducted in Britain and Scotland, proving the vaccine's efficacy on preventing infection and lowering the risk of hospitalization among elderly people.
With the age limit lifted, some 376,000 patients and medical workers at nursing homes and long-term care facilities ― over 65 years of age ― will be vaccinated within this month.
As another part of efforts to boost its inoculation drive, the government is considering releasing vaccine stocks reserved for second shots of the two-dose regimen, to vaccinate additional people.
“Such measures can be reviewed as long as they do not disrupt the second round of inoculations,” said KDCA official Hong Jeong-ik at a briefing.
“Currently, we are assigning two doses per person in advance to prevent postponement of the second shot due to delayed vaccine deliveries. But if the second batches of vaccine are guaranteed to arrive or have already been delivered, we may be able to use the stock supply, rather than waiting for new ones to be delivered,” he added.
The health authorities also readjusted the interval between the two doses of AstraZeneca. It will be extended from the current eight to 12 weeks to 10 to 12 weeks, as recent clinical data indicate that vaccine efficacy tends to be higher when the interval between the two doses is longer.
People who have been infected with the coronavirus after administration of their first vaccine shot will be given the second one only after they finish a self-quarantine period. Six people have been confirmed with the virus after inoculation as of Tuesday, the most recent date for available data, according to the KDCA.
But the authorities decided not to give a second dose to people who had an anaphylactic reaction to their first shot. Mixing vaccines, getting a first shot from AstraZeneca and then a second one from Pfizer, will also not be considered.
Flight crews, who frequently travel overseas but have been excluded from the two-week mandatory self-quarantine rule, will be vaccinated in the second quarter to curb any potential influx of new variants.
The health authorities plan to release a detailed vaccination schedule for the second quarter next week.
Meanwhile, 500,635 people across the country have been vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to the KDCA. Among them, 487,704 received their first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while 12,931 got their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
The nation had 465 new cases of COVID-19 infection for Wednesday, with the number staying over 400 for the third consecutive day.