Military Officers Begin COVID-19 Vaccination Starting Today

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 Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] COVID-19 vaccination for military personnel will begin on the 28th. As of the 24th, the consent rate for vaccination exceeded 80%.

On this day, the government will start administering the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine to approximately 126,000 people, including active-duty soldiers aged 30 and over, military personnel, and public service workers, at designated military vaccination centers. Vaccinations will begin with essential units such as command and control rooms, surveillance posts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) including Guard Posts (GP) and General Outposts (GOP), frontline and remote units, as well as aircraft and naval vessels.

The military authorities plan to accelerate vaccinations and complete the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the first week of May at the earliest, and by mid-second week at the latest. The vaccination schedule for general soldiers, originally set for June, was moved up to early May after those under 30 were excluded from receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns over ‘rare thrombosis’.

The Ministry of National Defense recently adjusted the schedule in consultation with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to preemptively block infection risks from commuting personnel, following multiple cluster infections within the military. So far, vaccinations have only been administered to about 2,400 military medical personnel, including military doctors and nursing officers working in hospital-level medical institutions, as well as some personnel deployed overseas or on business trips.

Meanwhile, for the approximately 455,000 soldiers under 30 who were deferred from receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, the option of administering the Pfizer vaccine is under consideration, although no concrete plan has yet been established.

Specific details regarding the type of vaccine and vaccination schedule for these individuals are expected to be determined based on intergovernmental coordination and future vaccine supply conditions.

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