Pfizer Vaccination for Elderly Aged 75 and Over Next Month... AstraZeneca for Ages 65-74 (Update)

Vaccinations for Elderly Aged 65 and Over, Including Long-Term Care Hospitals, to Begin Next Week

On the 9th, contact visits to nursing hospitals and nursing facilities, which had been restricted due to the risk of COVID-19 infection, became possible. At Gaeunmyeongwon in Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, Lee Yong-beom is visiting his mother, Son Yong-chang. Contact visits are allowed only if the guardian of a patient or resident who is terminally ill or severely ill tests negative for COVID-19 within 24 hours prior to the visit. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government has decided to administer the Pfizer vaccine to seniors aged 75 and older next month, and the AstraZeneca vaccine to seniors aged 65 to 74 in May and June.

Starting next week, 377,000 inpatients, residents, and workers aged 65 and older at nursing hospitals and facilities, whose vaccinations had been postponed, will also begin receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

On the 15th, the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team announced the "COVID-19 Vaccination Second Quarter Implementation Plan," stating that vaccinations for seniors aged 65 and older will begin next month, starting with those aged 75 and older.

In the second quarter, the goal is to vaccinate 12 million people, including some chronic patients such as dialysis patients, special education and disabled child care workers, health teachers, healthcare workers, and essential social workers. This implementation plan was decided after deliberation by the Vaccination Expert Committee on the 10th.

The Promotion Team said, "This implementation plan is a stepping stone between the first phase (February to March), which targeted essential COVID-19 prevention and treatment personnel and vulnerable facilities, and the third phase (starting July), when vaccinations for the general public will be fully underway. We plan to complete vaccinations for vulnerable facilities while sequentially starting vaccinations for seniors aged 65 and older among the general public."

The Promotion Team classified the vaccination target groups into six categories: nursing hospitals and nursing facilities; residents and workers in COVID-19 vulnerable facilities; seniors aged 65 and older; schools and childcare spaces; chronic patients; healthcare workers and essential social workers. Considering the characteristics of the target groups and vaccines, introduction timing, and quantity, they determined the vaccine types, vaccination timing, and methods for each target group.

(Unit: persons)

First, 377,000 inpatients, residents, and workers aged 65 and older at nursing hospitals and facilities, whose vaccinations were postponed last month due to efficacy concerns for the elderly, will begin receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine starting next week.

Vaccinations will also be promoted for 669,400 residents, users, and workers at infection-vulnerable facilities such as elderly, disabled, and homeless shelters, with plans to complete the first dose for vulnerable facilities during the second quarter.

3.64 million seniors aged 75 and older to receive Pfizer vaccine at regional vaccination centers

Vaccinations for seniors aged 65 and older will be conducted in two stages according to age. Those aged 75 and older will be vaccinated at vaccination centers, while those aged 65 to 74 will be vaccinated through designated medical institutions.

Starting from the first week of April, COVID-19 vaccinations will begin for 3.64 million seniors aged 75 and older. The Pfizer vaccine, which will be introduced the earliest in the second quarter, will be used, and vaccinations will be conducted at regional vaccination centers.

The Promotion Team plans to establish a support system responsible for everything from pre-registration to transportation, vaccination, return home, and post-vaccination monitoring at the local level such as eup, myeon, and dong, considering that many seniors aged 75 and older have difficulty making online reservations and have mobility issues.

To improve accessibility, 140 vaccination centers will be opened in April and 69 more in June, with a total of 254 centers planned to be established by July.

Vaccinations for 4.943 million seniors aged 65 to 74 will begin in June. The AstraZeneca vaccine will be used, and more than 10,000 designated medical institutions nationwide will be utilized. Considering that many elderly have difficulty making online reservations, a call center (1339) will be prepared for reservation reception.

Special education workers to be vaccinated in April... Kindergarten and elementary school teachers in June

[Image source=Yonhap News]

With the recent daily attendance of kindergarten and elementary school first and second graders, vaccinations to protect schools and childcare spaces will begin.

First, in April, vaccinations will be administered to 51,000 special education and disabled child care workers, and 13,000 health teachers and nursing staff in kindergartens, schools, and daycare centers. In June, vaccinations will be gradually promoted for 491,000 teachers, staff, and related workers responsible for kindergartens, daycare centers, and elementary school first and second graders.

Vaccinations will also be administered to 92,000 chronic kidney disease patients such as dialysis patients. Since dialysis patients usually visit designated medical institutions, procedures will be arranged to allow vaccinations to be conducted at those institutions whenever possible.

In the second quarter, vaccinations will be conducted for healthcare workers at clinics, dental hospitals and clinics, oriental medicine hospitals and clinics, and pharmacies.

Vaccinations for essential social workers such as police, coast guard, firefighters, and military personnel, originally scheduled for the third quarter, will also be conducted in the second quarter.

To prevent the importation of overseas viruses, vaccinations for flight attendants will also be conducted in the second quarter.

The Promotion Team announced that a total of 17,793,000 doses of vaccines are scheduled to be introduced in the first half of the year. Among these, 16,102,000 doses have confirmed supply schedules from this month through June, and schedules for the remaining vaccines are being negotiated individually with manufacturers.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Promotion Team, said, "Since the second quarter marks the full start of vaccinations for seniors, we will thoroughly review vaccination institutions, medical personnel, vaccine delivery and storage, and related guidelines to ensure safer vaccinations. We ask those eligible for vaccination to actively participate so that we can achieve herd immunity by November and restore daily life together."

Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "With the vaccination plan and target groups confirmed, we will promptly proceed with the consent procedures for the target groups at city, county, district, eup, myeon, and dong levels. We will carefully manage everything from pre-registration to post-vaccination care in cooperation with local governments to ensure that vaccinations for seniors aged 75 and older proceed safely and comfortably."

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