Vaccination Begins for Patients Aged 65 and Over in Long-Term Care Hospitals

Prime Minister Jeong: "I Will Get the AZ Vaccine Anytime for Public Reassurance"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] On the 23rd, COVID-19 vaccinations began for inpatients aged 65 and older and workers at long-term care hospitals.

The health authorities advised that symptoms such as fever and muscle pain after vaccination usually disappear within 2 to 3 days, so they recommended refraining from visiting the emergency room for mild symptoms. However, if serious adverse symptoms such as difficulty breathing, decreased consciousness, or severe headache occur after vaccination, medical institutions should be visited.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, vaccinations started targeting a total of 205,983 inpatients aged 65 and older and workers at 1,651 long-term care hospitals nationwide. The consent rate for vaccination among those aged 65 and older in long-term care hospitals and facilities was 76.9% as of the previous day, which was 16.8 percentage points lower than the 93.7% consent rate for those under 65 in the same facilities.

Team leader Jung Eun-kyung said, "It is difficult to simply compare with the influenza (flu) vaccination rate, which is about 70-80%," adding, "However, for inpatients at long-term care hospitals, factors such as underlying diseases, health status, and age seem to have contributed to the relatively lower consent rate."

Jung added, "Seniors aged 65 and older have been the group at highest risk of COVID-19 over the past year," and emphasized, "Since many have underlying conditions and are hospitalized in groups, the infection and fatality rates are also high, so we urge them to get vaccinated."

Earlier, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) mentioned the need to review cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) after investigating side effect cases following AstraZeneca vaccine administration.

A man in his 20s shows signs of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis after vaccination... Pain described as 'like being hit on the head with a hammer'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Domestically, a man in his 20s who was a first responder to COVID-19 showed suspected CVST signs after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, and a 60-year-old patient at a long-term care hospital who died after vaccination showed signs of thrombosis. In response, health authorities stated that the probability of CVST or DIC occurring is very low and that further review of causality with the vaccine is needed, recommending not to delay vaccination.

Choi Eun-hwa, a member of the Vaccination Expert Committee, explained, "Both CVST and DIC occur very rarely, at a rate of about one case per one million people," and added, "The cases of thrombosis observed after AstraZeneca vaccination have been reported to be lower than the usual occurrence rate."

CVST is a condition where blood clots form in the cerebral venous sinuses, causing brain dysfunction because blood cannot drain through the venous sinuses even though it flows into the brain arteries, resulting in severe headaches described as if being hit on the head with a hammer.

The health authorities stated, "If severe headaches persist and vision becomes blurred even after 3 days post-vaccination, one should visit a medical institution capable of performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT)."

They also urged that if severe bruising occurs even from minor bumps, or if small red bruises about 2-3 mm in size appear scattered mainly on the legs without any particular injury, these could be symptoms of DIC, and medical attention should be sought.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, presiding over the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting that day, said, "If it helps the public feel safe and participate in vaccination even a little, I, as the head of the Central Disaster Headquarters, will also get the AstraZeneca vaccine first at any time."

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