Over half of Omicron infections among unvaccinated: KDCA

By Lee Hae-rin

Over half of the Omicron variant cases here have occurred in the unvaccinated, according to a report released by the nation's health authorities, Friday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) analyzed 80 Omicron infection cases from Nov. 24 to Dec. 10 and found that 48 out of 78 people, whom the authorities were able to confirm if they were inoculated, had yet to receive a vaccine when they were infected.

Among the 25 fully vaccinated patients, 13 had received the Pfizer vaccine, five got Moderna shots, four received Janssen injections and three received the AstraZeneca vaccine, while another five had only received their first dose.

The KDCA study concludes that unvaccinated people are more vulnerable to Omicron than those who are fully vaccinated. The nation's fully vaccinated rate is 82.4 percent as of Sunday.

Most of the people infected by the new variant displayed only mild symptoms, while 22 had no symptoms. Among the 80 cases, there were no deaths or critically-ill cases requiring hospitalization.

Fourteen of the 80 patients had international travel records within 14 days of showing symptoms of COVID-19 or testing positive. Those 14 people flew in from Nigeria, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Iran.

“The clinical outcomes of Omicron patients are at a secure level, but the epidemiological investigation and monitoring of the vaccine's effectiveness must be continued,” the health authorities said.