AstraZeneca for Ages 60-64, Pfizer for Under 30 Military and Essential Workers... Vaccinations Next Month

President Moon Jae-in received the second dose of the AstraZeneca (AZ) COVID-19 vaccine on the morning of the 30th of last month at the Jongno-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] COVID-19 vaccinations for the elderly aged 60 and above will begin on the 27th of this month. They will receive the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine. Vaccinations with the Pfizer vaccine for essential social workers and military personnel, who were excluded from AZ vaccine eligibility due to concerns about 'thrombocytopenic thrombosis,' will also start next month.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on the 3rd that it reported the 'COVID-19 Vaccination Promotion Plan after May' at the special COVID-19 response inspection meeting held at the Blue House. At the briefing of the special inspection meeting held the same day, KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said, "We will expand the vaccination target for the elderly in the second quarter from the originally planned 65-74 years old to 60-74 years old, vaccinating a total of 8.95 million people," adding, "Through this, we will sufficiently achieve the first half vaccination goal of 12 million people and supplement the vaccination plan to vaccinate up to 13 million people."

Among the elderly, 4.943 million people aged 65-74 will receive the AZ vaccine at designated entrusted medical institutions starting on the 27th. Their vaccination reservations will begin on the 6th. The 4.003 million people aged 60-64 will start reservations on the 13th and receive vaccinations from the 7th of next month. The KDCA explained the background of this plan, stating, "The early administration of the first dose to those aged 60 and above, who have high COVID-19 fatality and severe illness rates, aims to reduce infections among the elderly and decrease the occurrence of critically ill patients, thereby lowering the risk of infection."

In addition, vaccinations with the AZ vaccine will begin for 12,000 patients with chronic severe respiratory diseases and 364,000 teachers of kindergarten, daycare centers, and first and second grades of elementary school. Patients with chronic severe respiratory diseases will start reservations on the 6th and receive vaccinations from the 27th, while teachers will begin reservations on the 13th and start vaccinations on the 7th of next month.

For those under 30, who were excluded from AZ vaccination due to the risk of 'thrombocytopenic thrombosis' outweighing the benefits, vaccinations using the Pfizer vaccine will begin. Among the second-quarter vaccination targets, 191,000 essential social workers such as police, coast guard, and firefighters under 30, who were excluded from vaccination, will be vaccinated at nationwide vaccination centers next month, and 452,000 military personnel will be vaccinated separately according to the military's own vaccination plan.

However, unlike essential social workers, not all military personnel may receive the Pfizer vaccine. At the briefing, Kim Ki-nam, head of the Vaccination Management Division of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, explained, "While Pfizer vaccination is the principle, if additional vaccines other than AZ and Pfizer are introduced in May and June, we are considering the possibility of using those vaccines."

Judo athlete An Ba-ul, who is participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on the afternoon of the 29th of last month at the vaccination center set up at the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Joint Press Corps] [Image source=Yonhap News]

The government raised the target number of people to complete vaccination in the first half of the year from the initially announced 12 million to 13 million. To achieve this, a total of 14.2 million doses of AZ and Pfizer vaccines will be supplied in May and June. This includes plans to advance the supply of 230,000 doses of AZ vaccine originally scheduled for the second half of the year. Accordingly, the total supply of AZ and Pfizer vaccines in the first half has increased from 18.09 million doses to 18.32 million doses.

A total of 7.23 million doses of the AZ vaccine will be sequentially supplied from the 14th of this month until the first week of next month. This is to ensure the smooth implementation of the second dose of the AZ vaccine starting on the 14th.

However, specific schedules, quantities, and intervals of supply were not disclosed citing 'confidentiality.' Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol emphasized, "We will continue to bring in vaccines on a weekly basis," adding, "Although we cannot disclose the exact weekly quantities, a substantial amount will be supplied to ensure no disruption in vaccinations."

The Pfizer vaccine is planned to be supplied sequentially with a total of 5 million doses over May and June. Additionally, through the vaccine joint procurement project 'COVAX Facility,' 1.67 million doses of AZ vaccine and 297,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine are also expected to be supplied within the first half of the year.

Furthermore, the government is continuously working to introduce 2.71 million doses of other vaccines such as Janssen, Novavax, and Moderna within the first half. If the introduction of other vaccines is successful, the total number of vaccine doses introduced domestically in the first half could increase to 21.03 million doses.

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