After Vaccination, COVID-19 Positive Rate in Nursing Hospitals and Facilities Drops Significantly to 2.0% (Update)

"Preemptive Testing Beyond Vaccination Also Has Significant Impact"

On the 2nd, a medical staff member at Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul is busy filling syringes with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine ahead of vaccination for health and medical organization leaders. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases in nursing hospitals and care facilities has significantly decreased following vaccination.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Promotion Task Force on the 9th, since February 26, COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to staff at nursing hospitals and facilities, as well as residents under the age of 65. As a result, the proportion of confirmed cases dropped to about one-fifth of the previous level. Among all confirmed cases, those related to nursing hospitals and facilities accounted for 9.7% from February 1 until just before the vaccination began. However, one month after the vaccination started, from March 27 to April 4, this proportion fell to 2.0%.

The weekly proportion of confirmed cases after vaccination was recorded as 5.6% (2.27?3.5) → 4.0% (3.6?3.12) → 2.2% (3.13?3.19) → 2.7% (3.20?3.26) → 2.0% (3.27?4.4).

On the same day’s COVID-19 briefing, Bae Gyeong-taek, head of the Situation Management Team at the task force, stated, "The effect of starting vaccinations in February has led to a decrease in patients at nursing hospitals and care facilities," adding, "This contributed to a reduction in the number of severe and fatal cases, resulting in an overall increase in confirmed cases but a decrease in deaths."

However, authorities explained that factors such as adherence to quarantine guidelines and proactive testing also played a role. Park Young-jun, head of the Adverse Reaction Investigation Support Team at the task force, said, "It is unlikely that the result is due to a single specific factor," adding, "Proactive testing of staff and others to quickly identify and treat confirmed cases likely had a significant impact."

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