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Comedian urges cancer patients to stop taking dog worm treatment

By Bahk Eun-jiComedian and singer Kim Chul-min, who made headlines for taking a dog deworming medicine to treat his lung cancer, appeared at a National Assembly audit session recently, urging the Ministry of Health and Welfare to help manage such alternative therapies, especially for cancer patients.Comedian and singer Kim Chul-min during his treatment for lung cancer at a hospital in this Aug. 25 photo. Korea Times file“Because cancer patients are easily misled by strange products and do not fully understand the risks, it is easy to take them personally without counseling, thinking, 'If someone else gets better, I'll get better,'” Kim said. “I hope there are doctors who specialize in counseling for such things.” Kim participated in the audit session through recorded video for his health reasons.Earlier, Kim drew attention when he said he was improving, with inflammation levels falling after taking fenbendazole, a drug used by veterinarians to protect against gastrointestinal parasites in dogs, cats, horses and cattle. He is now battling fourth-stage lung canc

Oct 25, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Comedian urges cancer patients to stop taking dog worm treatment

Gov't urges vulnerable to get flu shot, despite lingering risks

A man receives a seasonal flu shot at a hospital in Seoul, Friday. / YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiHealth authorities are continuing to urge children, senior citizens and other vulnerable people to get vaccinated for influenza, even though 48 people have died after receiving the flu shot. Health authorities say there are no direct causalities between the deaths and vaccinations.“In Korea, about 3,000 people die every year from the flu and its complications,” Jung Eun-kyeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said during a regular briefing at the government complex in Sejong. Jung stressed that about 1,500 people aged 65 and over died within a week after being vaccinated during last year's free flu vaccination program.Introducing last year's statistics, the commissioner said, “The seasonal flu is also a serious infectious disease just as COVID-19 infection is. Regardless of whether the cause of death is linked to vaccination, the statistics are about the number of deaths after vaccination.”She added, “It can be seen as the numb

Oct 25, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Gov't urges vulnerable to get flu shot, despite lingering risks

KU Anam Hospital's new medical center to offer convergence service

An aerial view shows Korea University Anam Hospital's building built on the university's campus in Seoul. With the completion of part of the new building, the hospital will start to treat patients. Courtesy of Korea University Anam HospitalBy Bahk Eun-jiKorea University (KU) Anam Hospital has made a new leap forward with the completion of part of its new building, and started to treat patients there. Back in 2017 when Korea University Medicine announced its plan to open the new hospital branch, it set the goal of providing the best medical services with state-of-the-art infrastructure to become a test bed for convergence research ahead of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.“Under the long-term plan, we will institute advanced digital technologies, such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality, at all affiliated hospitals, including the Convergence Medical Center being built on KU's Anam campus, and the Advanced Outpatient Care Center to be built on campuses in Guro and Ansan,” said Park Jong-hoon, president of KU Anam Hospital. “We hope the KU-affiliate

Oct 25, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
KU Anam Hospital's new medical center to offer convergence service

Korea reports highly pathogenic avian influenza case

GettyimagesbankA highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) case was reported in South Korea on Sunday, marking the first virulent bird flu case in the country in 32 months. The virulent avian influenza strain of H5N8 was discovered from a fecal sample collected from wild birds Wednesday in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.The discovery marked the first highly pathogenic AI case confirmed in the country since the H5N6 case, which is similarly virulent to H5N8, reported in the nearby Asan region in February 2018.Highly pathogenic AI is very contagious and can make poultry very sick and even cause death.The ministry has already restricted the movement of poultry and other livestock at 188 farms within a 10-kilometer radius of the area after discovering a H5-type AI strain in the area earlier. Authorities placed a travel ban on people and vehicles within a 500-meter radius of the location where the H5N8 strain was discovered. The purchase and sale of poultry at local markets in Cheonan will also be suspended until the tr

Oct 25, 2020
Korea reports highly pathogenic avian influenza case

New virus cases under 100 for 2nd day

A banner showing mandatory mask wearing and social distancing as a precaution against the coronavirus, is seen at a park in Seoul, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. APSouth Korea reported fewer than 100 new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day Sunday, but sporadic cluster infections among hospitals and other risk-prone facilities continued, straining the country's virus fight.The country added 61 more COVID-19 cases, including 50 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,836, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).South Korea added 77 new virus cases Saturday, dropping from 155 and 121 cases identified on Friday and Thursday, respectively.The country has recently observed an uptick in daily new virus cases due to sporadic cluster infections at hospitals and facilities for the elderly, who are vulnerable to COVID-19.So far, patients aged 70 and above account more than 80 percent of the country's COVID-19 deaths.South Korea has been going through ups and downs in the number of new virus cases since the country eased its social distancing sche

Oct 25, 2020
New virus cases under 100 for 2nd day

Korea to continue flu vaccination program as no direct links with deaths found

The health authorities said Saturday they will continue a free flu shots program despite dozens of recent deaths after vaccinations, as they found no link between vaccines and fatalities. YonhapThe health authorities said Saturday that they will continue a free influenza vaccination program despite dozens of recent deaths following the shots, as they have found no link between vaccines and the fatalities. The number of deaths jumped to 48 as of 1 p.m., up from 36 the previous day, after the first suspected death was reported Oct. 16, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). About 80 percent of the deceased were in their 70s and 80s. "We are not considering suspending the state-led free vaccination program at the moment, as interim autopsy results on 20 of those who died showed no direct link between their deaths and the vaccine," KDCA Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said in a briefingThe KDCA is closely monitoring the situation for any possible link between the vaccines and the deaths, given a total of 1,154 people have reported side effects after getting the sh

Oct 24, 2020
Korea to continue flu vaccination program as no direct links with deaths found

New virus cases fall below 100 amid infection clusters

South Korea's new COVID-19 infections returned to below 100, Friday, after triple-digit infections were reported for the previous two days, as sporadic infection clusters continued at elderly care hospitals and other risk-prone facilities. YonhapThe Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported Saturday that new COVID-19 infections had returned to below 100 for Friday, after cases were recorded in triple digits on the previous two days, as sporadic infection clusters continued at elderly care hospitals and other risk-prone facilities. The country added 77 coronavirus cases, including 66 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 25,775, according to the KDCA. Daily new cases came to 155 for Thursday, marking the highest since Sept. 11 when the number hit 176.New infections have been on a downward trend after a flare-up from mid-August to mid-September when the tally rose by triple digits. The country has largely managed to slow the spread of the virus on the back of tougher social distancing measures.Last week, the country relaxed these to the lowest level in it

Oct 24, 2020
New virus cases fall below 100 amid infection clusters

Korea to continue to administer remdesivir for COVID-19 patients amid efficacy controversy

Korea said Friday it will continue to administer remdesivir to COVID-19 patients in the face of looming controversy over the efficacy of the antiviral drug.The decision came as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced last week that its studies showed remdesivir had little or no effect on COVID-19 patients' mortality rates or on reducing the length of their hospital stays.According to the WHO's "Solidarity" trial, four potential drug regimens, including remdesivir, showed disappointing results in helping with treatment of COVID-19. The other three drug regimens were hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir and interferon."We need to maintain the use of remdesivir to treat COVID-19, as its effectiveness is believed to have scientific evidence," the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said in a statement.Since July, Korea has administered remdesivir, an experimental drug developed by Gilead Sciences and conventionally used to treat Ebola, to more than 600 patients here.The drug safety ministry said it has concluded that the report by the WHO needs further review and that it will continue the us

Oct 23, 2020
Korea to continue to administer remdesivir for COVID-19 patients amid efficacy controversy

Gov't to continue free vaccine program, finds no connection with deaths

The government said Friday it will continue its state-led free flu vaccination program despite mounting concerns from deaths following administration of vaccines, stating that it hasn't identified a causal link between the deaths and the flu shots.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that it has so far analyzed the causes of the deaths of 26 people who died after receiving vaccination shots but has found no connection between the shots and the deaths. The agency said it will continue with the free vaccine program as planned. A KDCA expert committee on inoculation will gather on Saturday to further analyze its findings. Concerns over seasonal flu shots grew further from the swelling number of deaths after vaccinations, with health experts remaining divided over whether to go ahead with a state-led free shot program amid a potential "twindemic" of the new coronavirus and the flu.Since the first suspected death from a flu shot was reported last Friday, 36 have died as of 1 p.m. Friday, up nine from Thursday's tally at 4 p.m., according to KDCA. Despite growin

Oct 23, 2020
Gov't to continue free vaccine program, finds no connection with deaths

Different messages from gov't, doctors intensify confusion over flu shots

A citizen gets a flu shot at a hospital in Seoul, Friday, amid growing concerns over their safety following the recent deaths of more than 30 people who received vaccinations. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeThe government and a doctors' association have offered differing opinions on seasonal flu shots amid an increasing number of deaths being reported of people who received the vaccinations, aggravating the confusion among the public.While the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) is maintaining its earlier position that the free shot program should proceed to prevent a potential “twindemic” of COVID-19 and the flu this winter, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) has urged the government to suspend the program until the cause of the recent deaths are clarified. Since a teenage boy in Incheon died after getting a flu shot, Oct. 16, at least 36 deaths have been reported across the country as of 1 p.m. Friday, according to the KDCA. Most of the fatalities were among the elderly. Despite growing fears over the flu shots, the health authorities reaffirmed that the state-le

Oct 23, 2020
Different messages from gov't, doctors intensify confusion over flu shots
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