Nationwide COVID-19 Vaccination Information, Health Insurance DB Integration System Established

Vaccines Given Twice... Managing Side Effects and Effectiveness Is Key

On the 12th, the COVID-19 screening clinic in front of Yongsan Station in Seoul is quiet. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government is establishing an integrated management system linked to the National Health Insurance Service's database to implement free COVID-19 vaccination for all citizens. Since most COVID-19 vaccines that have begun administration were developed and approved for use at an unprecedented speed, raising some safety concerns, the government plans to closely examine side effects and effectiveness by linking with the health insurance database in the future.

On the 13th, Professor Ki Mo-ran of the National Cancer Center and member of the Disease Control and Prevention Agency's Vaccination Expert Committee said, "The top priority for smooth vaccination preparation is to build a system that can handle vaccination reservations and evaluate side effects and effectiveness after vaccination." She added, "The existing Disease Control and Prevention Agency's integrated vaccination system cannot properly identify vaccination status, underlying diseases, effectiveness, or adverse reactions, so we are actively considering switching to the health insurance system."

In particular, as the government announced free COVID-19 vaccination for all citizens and plans to use the national emergency fund (reserve fund) and cover vaccination costs with health insurance resources to reduce financial burden, the likelihood of conducting vaccinations based on the health insurance system has increased.

The government has secured vaccines for a total of 56 million people through global pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer, and Janssen, and is about to finalize a contract with the U.S. company Novavax for additional procurement. Since the Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced the day before that healthy adults aged 19 to 49 will also begin vaccination from the third quarter (July to September) of this year, not only priority groups but the entire population will start COVID-19 vaccination in the third quarter.

Because gathering many vaccine recipients at vaccination centers or medical institutions could be a factor in COVID-19 infection, the government plans to conduct COVID-19 vaccination by reservation, unlike the existing national immunization program. However, if an internet or mobile reservation system is applied, accessibility for the elderly may be low, and for residents of nursing facilities, family members must be able to issue reservations on their behalf, which could raise privacy issues.

Professor Ki emphasized, "Most vaccines require two doses, and it is essential to check vaccination history to maintain the interval between doses and prevent possible duplicate vaccinations." She added, "For admission to group facilities such as nursing homes, issuing vaccination certificates is also necessary, and for this, the health insurance database must be utilized."

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