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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Citizens complain of scarcity of leftover vaccines from missed appointments

A citizen searches for leftover COVID-19 vaccines available from appointment no-shows via web portal Naver, Thursday. YonhapSouth Korea on Thursday launched an innovative pilot program to help non-priority people receive AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines made available from canceled appointments, but the so-called leftover vaccines can hardly be found in reality, many citizens said.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) began the test operation of the search and reservation system for AstraZeneca vaccines available from appointment no-shows through the country's largest web portal Naver and top mobile messenger KakaoTalk at 1 p.m.The test operation was launched as authorities started to offer AstraZeneca shots to South Korean citizens aged 65 to 74, one of the priority groups, on the same day. The online search system is aimed at minimizing the waste of remaining doses from missed appointments amid weak public trust in AstraZenaca vaccines. One AstraZeneca vaccine bottle contains 10 doses; if they are not used within six hours after opening, the remaining doses must be di

May 27, 2021
Citizens complain of scarcity of leftover vaccines from missed appointments

New COVID-19 cases under 700 again

A medical worker takes test samples for COVID-19 at a makeshift testing center near Seoul Station, May 27. YonhapSouth Korea's new daily coronavirus cases fell back below 700 again Thursday, but the country is grappling with sporadic cluster infections amid the rising number of travelers enjoying warm weather.The country reported 629 more COVID-19 cases, including 620 local infections, raising the total caseload to 138,311, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.Daily cases reached a two-week high of 707 the previous day, rising from 516 tallied Tuesday.There were three additional virus deaths, raising the total to 1,943. The fatality rate came to 1.4 percent.Daily caseloads have been stuck in a tight range since late March with no significant signs of a letup, going through some ups and downs between the 400s and 700s.Currently, the greater Seoul area, home to more than half of the country's 52 million people, is under Level 2 social distancing, the third highest in the five-tier scheme, while the rest of the country is mostly subject to Level 1.5 distancing.Wit

May 27, 2021
New COVID-19 cases under 700 again

Preparation for facility reopening for vaccinated people

A quarantine official disinfects the inside of a community center for senior citizens in Guro District, Seoul, Wednesday, which is scheduled to reopen June 1, for elderly residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The reopening is one of the government's incentives offered to people who have been inoculated. Yonhap

May 26, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Preparation for facility reopening for vaccinated people

Concerns emerge over premature vaccination incentives

Citizens wait for any possible side effects after receiving the coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Dobong District, Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapVaccinated people can go outdoors without wearing masks from JulyBy Lee Hyo-jinThe government announced a set of incentives Wednesday that will be offered to people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. These come as part of efforts to boost public participation in its inoculation program. However, medical experts are questioning the effectiveness of such measures, saying that eased social distancing regulations included in them may lead to a resurgence of the coronavirus. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that its current social distancing measures, including mandatory mask wearing in public and the ban on five or more people gathering together, will be gradually eased for vaccinated people.Starting from June, those who have received at least one dose of the vaccine will be exempt from the gathering ban with direct family members, which currently is allowed for up to eight people. From July, they will be able to go outdoors

May 26, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Concerns emerge over premature vaccination incentives
  • New cases spike above 700

Leftover vaccines available for online reservation from Thursday

gettyimagesbankCoronavirus vaccines left over after people do not show up for inoculations will be available for anyone who wants to get vaccinated via online reservations starting later this week, health authorities said Wednesday. Starting on Thursday, people will be able to sign up to get the leftover doses through the country's major internet portal Naver and top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.People can search for the number of available COVID-19 vaccines nearby and make reservations to get inoculated with such "no-show" doses at medical facilities.Medical facilities, including neighborhood clinics and general hospitals with leftover vaccines, will upload the necessary information, the KDCA said.The program will be on a trial for two weeks and will officially kick off on June 9, the authorities said.Younger people, who are not yet officially eligible to receive shots as part of the nationwide inoculation plan, can sign up to receive the surplus doses.However, the leftover doses will not be available to anyone who has alrea

May 26, 2021
Leftover vaccines available for online reservation from Thursday
  • Starting in July, vaccinated people can go outdoors without masks

New cases spike above 700

A medical worker takes test samples for COVID-19 at a makeshift testing center near Seoul Station, May 23. YonhapSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases sharply bounced back to a nearly two-week high Wednesday as sporadic cluster infections, along with more transmissible variant cases, continued to pop up across the country.The health authorities said those who are vaccinated will be partly exempted from wearing masks and other virus restrictions in an effort to encourage more people to get COVID-19 jabs.The country reported 707 more COVID-19 cases, including 684 local infections, raising the total caseload to 137,682, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.The daily caseload marks a sharp rise from 538 new cases Monday and 516 on Tuesday, which were due to fewer tests over the weekend.It marked the first time for the daily figure to surpass 700 in nearly two weeks.There were two additional virus deaths, raising the total to 1,940.The KDCA said the number of COVID-19 variant cases reached 1,390, with strains from Britain accounting for 1,147, expressing concern

May 26, 2021
New cases spike above 700
  • Starting in July, vaccinated people can go outdoors without masks
  • Concerns emerge over premature vaccination incentives

Starting in July, vaccinated people can go outdoors without masks

gettyimagesbankSouth Korea announced Wednesday that people who have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors starting in July, as part of incentives for those participating in the public vaccine campaign.The incentive program announced at a daily interagency coronavirus response meeting also included a plan to lift the gathering ban for direct family members who have had their first vaccine dose.South Korea launched its two-dose vaccination regimen campaign in February and plans to achieve herd immunity by November.The government has completed the inoculation of 1.9 million people, or 3.8 percent of the country's 52 million population.Starting in July, those who have received their first vaccine jabs can go outdoors without masks and will be exempt from capacity limits at religious facilities.Religious facilities in the greater Seoul area are currently restricted from accepting more than 20 percent of their full seating capacity, while those in other regions maintain a 30 percent ceiling.Starting next month, those who have received

May 26, 2021
Starting in July, vaccinated people can go outdoors without masks
  • New cases spike above 700
  • Leftover vaccines available for online reservation from Thursday

Koreans - from children to the elderly - are unhappy

South Korea's working hours per employee were far longer than the average of OECD members. gettyimagesbankBy Jun Ji-hyeKorea has become the world's 10th-largest economy, but its population was ranked near the bottom in terms of happiness among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations, according to the Korea Development Institute (KDI). In a recent report, the state-run institute cited the World Happiness Report published by the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) that determined the ranking of countries, scoring various data such as GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support and social freedom from 2018 through 2020.Korea was ranked 35th out of the 37 OECD members in the happiness report, followed only by Greece at 36th and Turkey, 37th. Finland was the world's happiest nation for the fourth time in a row, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland and the Netherlands.Apart from the U.N. happiness report, other statistics cited in the KDI report showed that the Korean people are living a hard life.The OECD statistics found that S

May 25, 2021By Jun Ji-hye
Koreans - from children to the elderly - are unhappy

Korea confirms 3 more 'breakthrough' COVID-19 infection cases

gettyimagesbankSouth Korea on Tuesday confirmed three more cases of so-called breakthrough COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload here to four.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the four people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus even after receiving two doses of a vaccine.A "breakthrough case" is when a person tests positive for COVID-19 between their first and second doses of a two-dose regimen or a person tests positive after full vaccination.Of the four people, two were exposed to the virus before a two-week period after the full vaccination ended, while two others were infected after the two-week period.The KDCA said similar cases will increase as the country's vaccine rollout revs up, adding that those who are fully inoculated still need to wear facial masks.The authorities said even after the full vaccinations, a person can be infected with COVID-19. They also said that those who are classified as breakthrough infection cases have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic.As of Tuesday, 1.85 million people, or 3.6 percent of the country's

May 25, 2021
Korea confirms 3 more 'breakthrough' COVID-19 infection cases
  • New cases under 600 for 3rd day

Change of visa status shouldn't bar foreigners from health insurance: human rights commission

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin The nation's human rights watchdog said Tuesday that a change in visa status should not be a reason to bar people of foreign nationality, who have previously made health insurance contributions, from the national health insurance program. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) delivered the opinion in response to a petition filed by Ko Gi-bok, head of the Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea, on behalf of a migrant worker from Indonesia.The migrant worker is in his 30s and entered Korea in 2015 under the Employment Permit System (EPS), working at a factory in Gyeonggi Province for four years and ten months, according to Ko. During this period, he had been enrolled in the national health insurance via his employer. Although his visa expired as of November 2020, he could not leave the country immediately, due to ongoing legal procedures over delayed payments from this company, which went bankrupt and failed to pay him. So the government granted him a G-1 visa, allowing him a temporary stay. But the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS)

May 25, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Change of visa status shouldn't bar foreigners from health insurance: human rights commission
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