101 Deaths After Flu Vaccination... "No Consideration to Suspend Vaccination"

On the 26th, when the government resumed free influenza vaccinations for seniors aged 62 to 69, citizens lined up in front of a hospital in Seoul to receive their flu shots. Following the resumption of free vaccinations on September 25 for children under 12 and pregnant women, on October 13 for those aged 13 to 18, and on the 19th for those aged 70 and above, this marks the final age group for the vaccination restart. Regarding the recent 48 deaths following flu vaccinations, the government announced on the 23rd that there is no correlation and that vaccinations will continue. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The number of deaths following influenza (flu) vaccination this year has risen to triple digits.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on the 10th, the number of deaths after flu vaccination was counted at 101 as of midnight. This is an increase of 4 from 97 on the 7th.

Among all death cases, 97 were found to have a very low causal relationship with vaccination based on epidemiological investigations and review by the damage investigation team. The remaining 4 cases are currently under epidemiological investigation.

Among the deceased, 84 (83.2%) were aged 70 or older. There were 9 in their 60s and 8 under 60. Death reports were concentrated in the third week of October, when the national vaccination support program for seniors aged 70 and above began, with 74.3% (75 cases) reported in seven regions including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Daegu, and Gyeongbuk.

The time elapsed from vaccination to death was 48 hours or more in 64 cases (63.4%). Those under 24 hours accounted for 17 cases (16.8%).

The KDCA explained, "After reviewing epidemiological investigations, basic investigations, and autopsy results for 97 of the 101 deaths so far, no signs suggesting adverse reactions to the vaccine were found in any case," adding, "Worsening of underlying diseases, clear other causes, and other clinical causes leading to death were identified."

They further stated, "Since causality between death and vaccination is not recognized, it is not considered a situation to reconsider vaccine re-evaluation or suspend the national vaccination program."

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, about 18.57 million flu vaccinations had been administered. Among them, 12.57 million were recipients under the national vaccination program. There have been 1,837 reports of adverse reactions after flu vaccination, but causality with vaccination has not yet been confirmed.

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