Jeju Island Expands Free Influenza Vaccination to All Residents

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Chang-won] Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced on the 7th that it will provide free quadrivalent influenza vaccines to all residents.

Initially, the province planned to offer free vaccinations to children and adolescents aged 6 months to 18 years and seniors aged 62 and older (national program) to prepare for the simultaneous spread of COVID-19 and influenza.

However, as a proactive response to the influenza outbreak, the free vaccination target was expanded to include those aged 19 to 61 (province's own program), covering all residents. The supported vaccine was changed from the existing trivalent to quadrivalent.

The vaccination schedule is as follows: ▲ those requiring two doses (children under 9 years old with no prior influenza vaccination) on the 8th ▲ those requiring one dose (children) and pregnant women on the 22nd ▲ those aged 19 and older starting from the 13th of next month.

The vaccination period was determined considering the influenza epidemic period, antibody production and duration after vaccination (starting about 2 weeks after vaccination and lasting approximately 6 months on average).

Those requiring two doses must receive both to expect sufficient vaccination effectiveness. Therefore, the province plans to conduct influenza vaccinations on the 8th.

The two-dose recipients are children aged 6 months to under 9 years who are receiving the influenza vaccine for the first time in their life or who have received only one dose before July 1 of this year. The second dose must be administered within 4 weeks after the first dose.

Other children requiring one dose will start free vaccinations from the 22nd to maintain sufficient immunity during the prolonged influenza epidemic period.

The province urged that the two-dose vaccinations be completed by November, considering the influenza epidemic period and that preventive effects appear from two weeks after vaccination.

Influenza vaccinations can be received at designated medical institutions (276 locations), public health centers, health sub-centers, and health clinics (64 locations) regardless of the address. Designated medical institutions can be confirmed by contacting the local public health center or through the vaccination helper website and mobile applications (smartphone apps).

Also, to prevent infection transmission within medical institutions related to the COVID-19 epidemic, it was announced that using the reservation system to book an appointment at a nearby designated medical institution or filling out an electronic preliminary questionnaire before visiting can reduce waiting times within the medical institution.

Im Tae-bong, Director of the Provincial Health, Welfare and Women’s Affairs Bureau, said, “For the safety of children, guardians should carefully observe the child’s condition before and after vaccination,” and added, “Medical personnel should check for adverse reactions through preliminary examination and observation for 15 to 30 minutes after vaccination.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.