Government to Announce COVID-19 Vaccination Plan Tomorrow... Focus on AZ Vaccine Administration for Elderly

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The government will unveil the detailed plan for COVID-19 vaccinations to be carried out until next month on the 15th.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on the 14th, the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team will announce the 'COVID-19 Vaccination Implementation Plan for February to March' at 11 a.m. on the 15th at the Government Seoul Office.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun will announce the implementation plan, and KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong will respond to related questions and explain the details.

The KDCA originally planned to hold a briefing on the 16th but moved the schedule up by one day. Regarding the sudden schedule change, the KDCA stated, "The announcement schedule was advanced after consultation with related ministries and agencies."

The current contentious issue is whether to prioritize AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine administration for the elderly aged 65 and over.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety previously approved the domestic use of the AstraZeneca vaccine but decided to include a cautionary note in the usage instructions stating, "Use in elderly persons aged 65 and over should be carefully determined," due to insufficient clinical trial data on vaccination efficacy in the elderly.

Some countries, including Germany and France, also recommend not using the AstraZeneca vaccine for the elderly for the same reason.

According to the vaccination plan announced by the KDCA last month, the first quarter vaccination targets include 50,000 medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients and 780,000 elderly residents and workers in nursing hospitals and nursing facilities, totaling 830,000 people.

Among them, the Pfizer vaccine is expected to be administered to medical personnel, so residents and workers in nursing hospitals and nursing facilities are likely to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

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