79,3858 People Completed First Dose of Vaccine... Janssen Vaccine First Verification Results to Be Announced Tomorrow

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Jongno-gu Public Health Center in Seoul on the 26th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Since the start of COVID-19 vaccinations in South Korea on the 26th of last month, approximately 790,000 people have received the vaccine over the past 30 days.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team announced on the 28th at midnight that 1,056 new first-dose vaccinations were administered, bringing the total number of people who have completed their first dose to 793,858. Among them, 733,562 received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 60,296 received the Pfizer vaccine.

Including 5,232 people who have received the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which has a 3-week interval between the first and second doses, the cumulative number of vaccinated individuals remains 793,858. No additional second doses were administered the previous day.

Breaking down by vaccination target, out of 853,579 priority recipients for the first quarter, 719,902 people have completed their first dose, representing a vaccination rate of 84.3% compared to 771,391 who consented to vaccination.

By vaccination institution, among 209,597 individuals under 65 in nursing hospitals, 188,959 (87.0%) completed their first dose; in nursing facilities, 105,026 out of 110,961 (90.0%) completed the first dose. COVID-19 first responders accounted for 68,558 (77.0%), hospital-level or higher medical institutions had 345,787 (81.2%), and COVID-19 treatment hospitals had 62,586 (93.7%) first-dose completions. Among these, 5,232 (8.1%) at COVID-19 treatment hospitals completed their second dose. Additionally, 430 out of 475 other essential travelers and similar groups (81.2%) completed vaccination.

Vaccinations for those aged 65 and older in nursing hospitals and facilities, including inpatients, residents, and workers, began on the 23rd. Among 377,541 eligible individuals, 73,956 (19.6%) have completed vaccination. This includes 65,832 in nursing hospitals and 8,124 in nursing facilities.

Meanwhile, as of midnight on this day, 46 new cases suspected of adverse reactions following COVID-19 vaccination were reported to health authorities, bringing the total to 10,177 cases.

One new suspected case of anaphylaxis, a severe systemic allergic reaction, and one new suspected severe neurological reaction such as seizures were added. All four cases involved the AstraZeneca vaccine. The other 46 cases involved relatively mild symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, fever, chills, and nausea. No additional deaths were reported.

Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 Vaccine
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held a verification advisory committee meeting on the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine on this day and will announce the results on the morning of the 29th. The Ministry currently conducts a three-tier advisory review process before approving COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, involving the verification advisory committee, the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Deliberation Committee, and the final inspection committee.

The Janssen vaccine is a 'viral vector vaccine' manufactured by inserting the gene for the COVID-19 virus surface antigen into an adenovirus template. It is the only COVID-19 vaccine scheduled for introduction in South Korea that is developed for single-dose administration.

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