"Mild Symptoms Like Fever and Chills After Vaccination Also Eligible for Compensation... 4 Cases Approved (Update)"

Nine Cases Reviewed by Vaccination Injury Compensation Committee... Compensation Under 300,000 Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Compensation has been decided for four cases recognized as vaccine injury among approximately 300 cases reported due to adverse reactions after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Vaccination Injury Compensation Expert Committee (Chairman Kim Jung-gon) held the 1st COVID-19 Vaccination Injury Compensation Expert Committee meeting on the 27th and announced on the 28th that it reviewed the causality between COVID-19 vaccination and reported adverse reactions as well as the possibility of compensation, resulting in this decision.

A total of nine cases were presented at the first expert committee meeting, with four cases approved for compensation and five cases dismissed. The committee evaluated the course of adverse reactions based on medical records and epidemiological investigations considering underlying diseases, medical history, and clinical progression after vaccination.

Jo Eun-hee, Head of the Post-Vaccination Management Division at the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Task Force, stated, "The four compensated cases involved adverse reactions such as fever, chills, and muscle pain after vaccination, which required treatment but did not involve hospitalization. All four cases were AstraZeneca vaccine recipients, likely because AstraZeneca vaccinations were initially administered more frequently."

The five dismissed cases were evaluated as having a higher likelihood of adverse reactions caused by factors other than vaccination, making compensation for vaccine-related injury claims difficult to recognize.

Jo added, "Based on the compensation claim amounts, all cases fall under the 'small-amount review' category, with claims under 300,000 KRW, mainly for medical and nursing care expenses."

The task force has been accepting COVID-19 vaccination injury compensation claims since March, but few cases have submitted complete documents for review so far. They expect a significant increase in claims after vaccinations become more widespread in May.

Jo said, "Currently, about 300 additional compensation claims have been received and are under review, but only about 10% have complete documentation. We expect to process several hundred cases in the May review."

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency operates a national vaccination injury compensation system based on Article 71 of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act to cover unavoidable adverse reactions following national vaccinations.

To strengthen the government's responsibility for adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccination, the eligibility criteria for the national vaccination injury compensation system have been expanded from a minimum out-of-pocket expense of 300,000 KRW to full coverage exclusively for COVID-19 vaccinations. The scope of compensation has also been expanded from severe to mild cases, with simplified small-amount review procedures and submission documents.

If a person who received the COVID-19 vaccine applies for national compensation for adverse reactions, the KDCA decides on compensation within 120 days. Eligible compensation includes medical expenses (out-of-pocket costs), nursing care fees (50,000 KRW per day for inpatient care), lump-sum disability compensation, lump-sum death compensation, and funeral expenses.

The applicant or their guardian submits the required documents to the local public health center, where investigations are conducted by local governments and the KDCA's damage investigation team, followed by final review by the Vaccination Injury Compensation Expert Committee.

Jo added, "To expedite compensation, we are considering increasing the operation of the Vaccination Injury Compensation Expert Committee from once quarterly to twice monthly in the future."

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