Over 95% of troops aged under 30 receive first doses of COVID-19 vaccine

More than 95 percent of service members aged under 30 have received their first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine after the government began its inoculation campaign for younger soldiers earlier this month, the defense ministry said Saturday.

A total of 395,677 troops in their 20s, or 95.4 percent of the age group, had been vaccinated as of Friday, according to the ministry.

The defense ministry began its campaign in March and has been implementing it in phases. Soldiers aged 30 and older were given AstraZeneca's vaccine, and they will receive their second shots starting July.

On Saturday, the ministry reported a new COVID-19 case, after an Army officer in the southwestern city of Namwon tested positive following the recent infection of one of his family members.

The latest case brought the total number of infections reported among the military population to 1,013.

Nationwide, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 668 new cases, including 611 local ones, raising the accumulated caseload to 154,457. (Yonhap)