Health authorities should present ways to boost vaccinations
Korea reported 58,379 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, marking a rebound to the 50,000 level for the first time in 46 days. The surge is causing concerns over a resurgence of infections during the winter. "If the daily average of new COVID-19 cases rises abruptly after lingering at around 20,000 for weeks, it means another new wave is coming," Jung Ki-seok, a top adviser to the government's COVID-19 task force, said.
For the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the seasonal influenza epidemic has also hit Korea, adding to worries about a possible "twindemic" of spikes in both coronavirus and influenza infection cases. As influenza patients exceeded the epidemic standard of 4.9 per 1,000 people last month, authorities issued an influenza epidemic warning across the country. It was also the first time since 2019 that the authorities have issued an influenza epidemic warning. Therefore, officials should not let their guard down and prepare for the twindemic through close monitoring.
The problem is the disappointingly low rate of the booster vaccinations, a major weapon in fighting COVID-19. Since the winter inoculation began on Oct. 11 based on the bivalent vaccine that can respond to Omicron mutations, the booster injection rate for people who are 60 and older has remained at just 7 percent. Considering the rising fatality and severity rates, additional vaccinations in high-risk groups are becoming increasingly important. Therefore, officials should creatively devise and offer incentives for target groups to lift the vaccination rate.
The quarantine authorities should also manage messages to the public more carefully. They stopped releasing daily news releases on COVID-19 statistics from Monday, publishing them only on the COVID-19 website. The government has never skipped announcing the daily tally since January 2020. Officials said only a few countries continue to release related statistics daily. However, people might feel more than a little confused if the government encourages booster vaccinations but takes steps that give the perception of discarding one measure after another.
Korea reported 58,379 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, marking a rebound to the 50,000 level for the first time in 46 days. The surge is causing concerns over a resurgence of infections during the winter. "If the daily average of new COVID-19 cases rises abruptly after lingering at around 20,000 for weeks, it means another new wave is coming," Jung Ki-seok, a top adviser to the government's COVID-19 task force, said.
For the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the seasonal influenza epidemic has also hit Korea, adding to worries about a possible "twindemic" of spikes in both coronavirus and influenza infection cases. As influenza patients exceeded the epidemic standard of 4.9 per 1,000 people last month, authorities issued an influenza epidemic warning across the country. It was also the first time since 2019 that the authorities have issued an influenza epidemic warning. Therefore, officials should not let their guard down and prepare for the twindemic through close monitoring.
The problem is the disappointingly low rate of the booster vaccinations, a major weapon in fighting COVID-19. Since the winter inoculation began on Oct. 11 based on the bivalent vaccine that can respond to Omicron mutations, the booster injection rate for people who are 60 and older has remained at just 7 percent. Considering the rising fatality and severity rates, additional vaccinations in high-risk groups are becoming increasingly important. Therefore, officials should creatively devise and offer incentives for target groups to lift the vaccination rate.
The quarantine authorities should also manage messages to the public more carefully. They stopped releasing daily news releases on COVID-19 statistics from Monday, publishing them only on the COVID-19 website. The government has never skipped announcing the daily tally since January 2020. Officials said only a few countries continue to release related statistics daily. However, people might feel more than a little confused if the government encourages booster vaccinations but takes steps that give the perception of discarding one measure after another.
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