Starting Tomorrow, AstraZeneca Vaccinations for Those 65 and Older... President Moon to Receive Shot Too

380,000 Elderly Patients, Residents, and Workers in Long-Term Care Hospitals and Facilities
Moon Attends G7 Summit as Essential Official Duty

President Moon Jae-in visited the Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul on the 26th of last month and observed Dr. Kim Yuntae, a rehabilitation facility worker (Purme Nexus Children's Rehabilitation Hospital), receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations for inpatients, residents, and workers aged 65 and older in nursing hospitals and facilities will begin on the 23rd.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team on the 22nd, COVID-19 vaccinations for approximately 377,000 inpatients, residents, and workers aged 65 and older in nursing hospitals and facilities will start on the 23rd. Vaccinations at nursing hospitals will begin on the 23rd, and at nursing facilities from the 30th.

Initially, these groups were also scheduled to receive vaccinations starting on the 26th of last month along with the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout, but the vaccinations were postponed due to a lack of clinical data proving safety for the elderly. However, as studies from the UK and other countries showed sufficient efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the elderly, vaccination for those aged 65 and older was permitted domestically.

President Moon Jae-in and the First Lady will also receive the AstraZeneca vaccine on the 23rd. This is a necessary official vaccination ahead of attending the G7 summit in the UK in June. The Blue House explained, "This is to dispel concerns about safety and effectiveness and to set an example."

In the afternoon, the results of the review by the Vaccination Expert Committee held on the 20th regarding recent additional safety concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine will be announced.

Recently, reports of blood clots following AstraZeneca vaccinations have emerged across European countries, leading to suspension of the vaccine in some places. In Korea, a post-mortem on a 60-year-old nursing hospital inpatient who died after vaccination revealed blood clots, and a 20-year-old COVID-19 response worker was also found to have cerebral thrombosis after vaccination.

However, since the European Medicines Agency (EMA) evaluated on the 18th that vaccination does not increase the risk of blood clot formation, the expert committee's review results are expected to be similar. Following EMA's announcement, AstraZeneca vaccinations have been gradually resumed in Europe.

AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine [Image Source=AFP Yonhap News]

However, there is a possibility of some changes to the plan. EMA stated that additional analysis is needed for rare cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) following vaccination. The Promotion Team indicated that CVST is suspected in the case of the 20-year-old response worker, and earlier, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety issued a safety letter advising caution regarding the occurrence of CVST and DIC among AstraZeneca vaccine recipients.

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 415 new confirmed cases were reported, maintaining the 400s for the sixth consecutive day. While many cases continue to be reported in the Seoul metropolitan area including Seoul and Gyeonggi, more than 20 cases were also confirmed in Busan, Gyeongnam, and Gangwon. In Seoul, 108 cases, in Gyeonggi 143 cases, and in Incheon 10 cases were confirmed.

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