"COVID-19 Vaccines Are Safe" Jeonnam Hospital Directors Begin Relay Vaccinations

An employee of the Gwangju Seo-gu Public Health Center is receiving a COVID-19 vaccination.

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Hospital directors of medical institutions have stepped forward to highlight the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 8th, starting with Jeon Pan-seok, director of Mokpo Christian Hospital, tomorrow Yang Jin-won, director of Suncheon Hanguk Hospital, and on the 10th Yoo Hong-seok, director of Goheung Jeil Hospital, will carry out relay vaccinations.

This relay vaccination was arranged to encourage residents to participate in vaccination, as COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers at hospital-level or higher medical institutions begin from this day, with the hospital directors of the three medical institutions leading the effort.

After completing the vaccination on the first day, Jeon Pan-seok, director of Mokpo Christian Hospital, said, “It feels like getting a flu shot, and I am hopeful thinking that we can return to our previous daily lives,” adding, “There are limits to quarantine through social distancing rules, so I hope that herd immunity through vaccination will restore daily life as soon as possible.”

The vaccination targets at hospital-level or higher medical institutions include 11,683 healthcare workers at 101 institutions, such as tertiary general hospitals where many severe patients visit. These medical institutions will administer the AstraZeneca vaccine themselves.

Jeonnam Province has urgently organized a medical institution vaccination inspection team to manage vaccines and ensure safe vaccinations, and from this day will focus on on-site preparation inspections at hospital-level medical institutions.

As of the previous day, in the Jeonnam region, 16,039 out of 36,736 first-quarter vaccination targets have been vaccinated, showing a vaccination rate of 43.6%.

Kang Young-gu, Director of the Jeonnam Province Health and Welfare Bureau, said, “Since hospital directors of medical institutions have participated in vaccination, residents should actively participate in vaccination when their turn comes,” and added, “The administration will also do its best to ensure safe vaccinations without letting down its guard.”

Meanwhile, as a result of Jeonnam Province conducting COVID-19 mass testing for indoor sports facility exercise program workers and foreign workers, all 5,786 people, including 240 sports facility workers and 5,546 foreign workers, tested negative.

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