7 out of 10 Flu Patients Are in Their 20s or Younger... "Elderly Infection Rates Down Due to Vaccination"

Citizens are receiving flu vaccinations at the Korea Health Management Association Seoul Western Branch in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Among patients who received treatment for the flu last year, young patients aged 20 and under accounted for 70%. This age group is prone to easy transmission due to group living, while the elderly had fewer cases likely because they received many vaccinations, reducing their infection probability.

According to data recently released on the 9th by the National Health Insurance Service, which analyzed health insurance treatment data over the past five years, there were 1.77 million flu patients last year. Among them, 1.23 million patients were aged 20 or younger, accounting for 69.5% of the total. Patients aged 60 and over were fewer than 100,000.

This trend has been similar in recent years. The proportion of flu patients aged 20 and under was 64.6% in 2015 and reached 73.9% in 2016. The number of flu patients tended to increase with age. Professor Choi Heun, an infectious disease specialist at the National Health Insurance Ilsan Hospital, explained, "Among those aged 20 and under, many populations attend daycare centers or schools, which are group living environments, making transmission easier. The influenza vaccination rate among the population aged 65 and over, who are the target of the national immunization program, exceeds 80%. Although vaccine efficacy may be low, the high vaccination rate results in fewer infected individuals."

Seasonally, over 95% of cases occurred in winter and spring. Based on the past five years, winter accounted for 71.9% and spring 23.8%. Professor Choi said, "The low humidity and temperature in winter are favorable for the survival and transmission of the virus." By gender, female patients were about 1.2 times more than male patients, which Professor Choi attributed more to social factors such as women having more frequent contact with populations capable of transmission rather than the characteristics of the virus itself.

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