Up to 10 million won to be provided for those who suffer from COVID-19 vaccine side effects
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A maximum 10 million won ($8,970) payout will be provided for those who require hospitalization after being administered with novel coronavirus vaccines even without proven causal links to the COVID-19 jabs starting next week, health authorities said Monday.
The government has so far covered costs for hospital stays and other kinds of treatment only when a causal link between a COVID-19 vaccine injection and side effects is proven.
Starting on May 17, those who suffer from post-vaccination side effects can apply for the updated medical expense assistance scheme even when there is not enough proof of being related to an inoculation, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
The KDCA said an independent panel will review all applications and provide medical expenses for those who were previously excluded from the medical expense assistance program, the authorities said.
The KDCA, however, said the expanded medical expense coverage will only be carried out temporarily and will exclude those whose hospitalizations were overtly proven to be related to other underlying diseases.
Of 156 cases reported so far, only two severe cases were concluded to have causal relations with COVID-19 vaccine injections, the KDCA said.
Investigations concluded that there were no direct links between the shots and side effects of 150 others. An epidemiological survey is still under way for four other recipients.
In an effort to ramp up the inoculation plan and allay public concerns, the authorities have vowed to provide full support for the possible side effects.
A benefit of up to 430 million won will be provided if someone is severely disabled or dies as a result of taking a COVID-19 vaccine.
The country is revving up its vaccination drive with an aim to inoculate 13 million people by June and 36 million by September.
The country aims to create herd immunity by November.
A total of 3,674,729 people have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, accounting for 7.2 percent of the country's population, since the country started its vaccination program on Feb. 26.
A total of 19,705 cases of side effects after vaccinations have been reported, up 74 from a day earlier, although 96.4 percent of them were mild symptoms.
A total of 95 post-vaccination deaths have been reported, although the exact causes of the deaths remain unknown as health authorities could not determine causality, the KDCA said. (Yonhap)