"This Year, 71% of Children Under 12 Received the Flu Vaccine... 65% of Those Aged 65 and Over"

On the 20th, citizens lined up to receive influenza (flu) vaccinations at the Korea Health Management Association Seoul Western Branch in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, where the free influenza vaccination program is being conducted. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] In this year's national influenza (flu) vaccination program, the cumulative vaccination rate for children aged 12 and under reached 71.2% as of last month, the highest among all age groups.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced the vaccination rates by age and group for the '2020-2021 National Flu Vaccination Program' in a press release on the 3rd.

As of the end of last month, the vaccination rate for seniors aged 65 and older was 65.2%, and for those aged 13 to 18, it was 53.1%.

The rate for pregnant women was 36.8%, while the lowest rate was 33.9% among those aged 62 to 64, who started vaccination the latest among all age groups.

During the '2019-2020 season' program, as of the end of October 2019, the vaccination rate for children aged 12 and under was 51%, for pregnant women 21%, and for seniors aged 62 and older, 73.7%.

The KDCA stated, "Although the vaccination rate for children aged 12 and under appears higher than last year, it is difficult to make a simple comparison because the vaccination start times differ. The free vaccination for those aged 13 to 18 was applied for the first time this year, and the age groups targeted for seniors differ between last year's and this year's programs, so vaccination rates for the two seasons cannot be compared as of the end of October."

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