Authorities Confirm Causality in 2 Adverse Reaction Cases... 40s Nursing Assistant's Case 'Pending Judgment' (Update)

9th Damage Investigation Team Meeting Reviews 11 Deaths and 11 Severe Cases
Case of Nurse Assistant in 40s to Be Re-reviewed with Supplemented Data

Janssen Vaccine Recipients and Schedule to Be Decided in Early May

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Since the government began COVID-19 vaccinations in February, a review of suspected adverse reaction reports has recognized a causal relationship between adverse reactions and vaccination in 2 cases. However, regarding the case of a nurse assistant in her 40s who reportedly experienced limb paralysis after receiving the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, the decision has been postponed, and additional data will be collected for re-evaluation.

Kim Jung-gon, head of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Task Force’s Vaccine Injury Investigation Team, stated at the regular COVID-19 briefing on the 26th, "At the 9th Vaccine Injury Investigation Team meeting held on the 23rd, we reviewed 11 death cases and 11 severe cases." He added, "For the death cases, based on the data collected and analyzed so far, it was judged that the deaths were more likely due to acute onset conditions such as pneumonia and myocardial infarction stemming from patients’ underlying diseases, and the association with the vaccine was considered low." Among the 11 death cases, autopsies are currently underway for 3 cases, and re-evaluation will be conducted once the official autopsy results are received.

Regarding the severe cases, it was concluded that 10 cases were unlikely to be related to the vaccine, while the case of the nurse assistant in her 40s was left undecided. Kim explained, "For the remaining one case suspected of severe disseminated encephalomyelitis, additional clinical and laboratory results will be supplemented for re-evaluation."

Regarding the background for the decision to reconsider, Park Young-jun, head of the Adverse Reaction Investigation Support Team at the COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force, said, "There was an opinion that the diagnosis currently given to the case needed to be clarified further." He added, "There are still some tests pending, and before that, there were supplementary data requirements to clarify the diagnosis more precisely." He continued, "At the time of the Vaccine Injury Investigation Team’s review last Friday, the data was not fully prepared, so it was agreed that it would be procedurally and sequentially appropriate to evaluate the causality with the diagnosis after the data is supplemented."

So far, a total of 9 Vaccine Injury Investigation Team meetings have reviewed 54 death cases and 45 severe cases. Among these, causality with the vaccine was recognized in 2 cases.

The average age of the death cases reviewed at the 9th meeting was 82 years, all of whom had underlying diseases. The average time from vaccination to death was 4.3 days (range 0.6?13.2 days). The average age of severe cases was 60 years (range 22?81 years), with 63.6% having underlying diseases. The average period from vaccination to onset of adverse reaction symptoms was 6.8 days (range 0.3?26.3 days).

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force, the experts responsible for evaluating causality of adverse reactions after vaccination are appointed under Article 30 of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. Medical specialists from 7 specialized fields participate as external members, and 3 government officials responsible for related tasks from public institutions also attend. Additionally, the expert panel has been expanded by adding 6 advisory experts, making a total of 16 members who individually evaluate each case.

Park explained, "The final causality evaluation comprehensively considers the possibility that the vaccination caused the adverse reaction as well as other factors." He added, "Among other factors, important considerations include age, underlying diseases, overall physical condition, and living environment."

Meanwhile, the authorities announced that they plan to decide the specific vaccination schedule and target groups for the Janssen vaccine, which received product approval earlier this month, as early as the beginning of next month. Hong Jung-ik, head of the Vaccination Planning Team at the task force, said, "We are reviewing the approval details and decisions from the U.S. and Europe regarding how much and to whom the Janssen vaccine will be administered." He added, "We will hold expert consultations and a vaccination expert committee meeting to decide the target groups and schedule, and we expect to announce this as early as early May."

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