First Words of a Nurse in Her 50s Who Received the First Vaccination in Busan: "It Doesn't Hurt at All"

Calm Atmosphere as Vaccine Inoculation Begins in Busan on the 26th, Haeundae Nursing Facility Medical Staff Selected as First Recipients

32,700 Doses of AZ Arrive in Busan, Prioritizing Vaccination for Patients, Residents, and Workers in Nursing Ho

Nurse Kim Suni, the first vaccine recipient in Busan and a nurse at Eunhwa Nursing Home in Haeundae-gu, Busan, is receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine at the Haeundae-gu Public Health Center in Busan on the morning of the 26th. Photo by Yonhap News

Nurse Kim Suni, the first vaccine recipient in Busan and working at Eunhwa Nursing Home in Haeundae-gu, is receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine on the morning of the 26th at the Haeundae-gu Public Health Center in Busan. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] "It doesn't hurt at all." Nurse Kim Soon-yi (50, female), who received the first vaccination in Busan, gave a concise answer to the reporters' question.

She, a veteran medical professional with 30 years of experience, calmly endured the deep prick of the needle in her left arm without even frowning. Thirty minutes after the vaccination, she said, "No abnormalities, I feel refreshed." Her words conveyed a sense of comfort and composure as if returning to everyday life.

Kim, recorded as the first in Busan, visited Haeundae-gu Public Health Center at 9:30 a.m. on the 26th to receive the vaccination. She is the head nurse at Eunhwa Nursing Home in Haeundae-gu.

The AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine contains 10 doses per vial, so vaccinations are conducted in groups of 10. At 9:30 a.m. that day, 20 workers from two nursing facilities visited the Haeundae-gu Public Health Center to receive the vaccine.

Among the directors, social workers, care workers, and social service agents, nurse Kim, a medical professional, was chosen as the first recipient, drawing significant attention.

The AZ vaccine, the first COVID-19 vaccine approved domestically, arrived in Busan on the 25th, and on the 26th began the grand journey to create herd immunity against COVID-19.

Busan City announced that on the first day of vaccination, the 26th, vaccinations were underway at a total of 10 locations, including five public health centers?Haeundae-gu, Yeonje-gu, Suyeong-gu, Busanjin-gu, and Yeongdo-gu?and five nursing hospitals.

The first batch of AZ vaccines that arrived in Busan consisted of 6,900 doses. On the 27th, an additional 25,800 doses of the AZ vaccine will arrive in Busan. The total of 32,700 doses arriving over two days will be prioritized for patients, residents, and workers under 65 years old at 187 nursing hospitals and 102 nursing facilities in Busan.

The total number of priority recipients currently counted is 24,940. Among them, 23,406 people, or 93.8% of the total target group, have agreed to be vaccinated.

The amount of vaccine that arrived in Busan over two days is sufficient for all these priority recipients to receive one dose each.

Vaccinations at nursing hospitals with resident doctors are conducted within their own facilities. For nursing facilities, contracted medical institutions or public health center visiting vaccination teams will visit the facilities to vaccinate, or the recipients will visit their respective public health centers to receive the vaccine.

Regarding future vaccine supplies to Busan, a city official said, "It is difficult to specify as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency manages nationwide supply to ensure smooth vaccination progress," adding, "Vaccines will arrive in Busan as scheduled according to the originally planned vaccination order without disruption."

According to the current vaccination schedule, in the first quarter (February to March), the vaccination targets are: patients, residents, and workers under 65 years old in nursing hospitals and nursing facilities; workers and inpatients in psychiatric medical institutions with closed wards; workers in high-risk medical institutions (tertiary general hospitals, general hospitals, hospitals); first responders to COVID-19 (119 emergency medical teams, epidemiological investigation and quarantine personnel, specimen collection, testing, transport, laboratory, and other quarantine-related workers); and workers in COVID-19 treatment hospitals (infectious disease dedicated hospitals, base hospitals, hospitals operating severe patient treatment beds, and residential treatment centers).

In the second quarter (April to June), vaccinations will be given to general citizens aged 65 and older; residents and workers in COVID-19 vulnerable facilities; and healthcare workers in medical institutions excluding those targeted in the first quarter. From the third quarter in July, vaccinations will be administered to general citizens aged 18 and older.

Pregnant women and children and adolescents under 18 are excluded from vaccination targets but this may change depending on additional clinical results.

The vaccination plan for residents and workers aged 65 and older in nursing hospitals and facilities, originally scheduled for the first quarter, will be reexamined by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency after verifying the vaccine's effectiveness.

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