30 Minutes per Severe Vaccine Adverse Reaction Report per Person... Hospitals and Patients Both Dissatisfied

Disease Control Agency Urges Immediate Reporting
But Complex Procedures Cause Difficulties

On the 16th, exceeding the initial target of 13 million for the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and achieving it earlier than expected, police forces are administering vaccines at the COVID-19 Vaccination Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Recently, concerns over vaccine side effects have increased as a man in his 30s who received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine died from thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). However, there are criticisms that adverse reaction reports are not being actively filed at frontline medical sites. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) recommends that medical institutions report adverse reactions immediately after vaccination, but hospitals complain that the reporting procedures for severe adverse reactions are complicated and difficult.

According to the medical industry on the 23rd, as vaccine administration has become more widespread recently, the number of patients complaining of adverse reactions has surged. A hospital official in Jung-gu, Seoul, said, "Yesterday alone, more than 20 patients came to the hospital complaining of adverse reactions after vaccination," adding, "Reporting severe adverse reactions takes up to 30 minutes per patient, and with the influx of patients, it is unrealistic to focus on reporting adverse reactions."

Another hospital official said, "Since cases of death due to rare thrombosis have been publicized, even symptoms that are common after vaccination are being reported as adverse reactions due to patients' requests, causing difficulties," emphasizing, "Before the full-scale vaccination of the general public begins in the third quarter, it is necessary to re-examine the procedures and methods for reporting adverse reactions."

Vaccine recipients are also voicing complaints. Mr. A, in his 60s, who completed vaccination at a hospital in Incheon on the 12th, developed hives on his face and other areas after vaccination and visited a local dermatology clinic for two consecutive days. When symptoms did not improve, he underwent brain hemorrhage surgery in the early morning of the fourth day after vaccination and fell into a coma. Mr. A's family said, "We reported the adverse reaction to the health center through the hospital, but were told that causality with the vaccine can only be determined through a post-mortem examination, leaving us devastated," adding, "It is difficult for patients to prove causality, and based on past cases, if there are underlying conditions, vaccination is unlikely to be recognized as the direct cause, which is frustrating."

According to the KDCA, 18 meetings of the Vaccine Injury Investigation Committee have been held so far after COVID-19 vaccination, reviewing 462 death and severe cases (224 deaths, 238 severe cases) and 230 suspected anaphylaxis cases. However, only 76 cases were recognized as having causality with vaccination. Among them, only one death case was a man in his 30s with TTS, and there were only three severe cases. The remaining 72 cases were all recognized only for anaphylaxis.

Yeom Ho-gi, chairman of the COVID-19 Task Force Expert Committee of the Korean Medical Association, said, "Besides the death cases recognized as causally related, people with lasting disabilities cannot exclude the possibility of association with the vaccine," adding, "Since COVID-19 vaccination is new and there are not many verified cases of adverse reactions, the scope of compensation and criteria for recognizing causality should be broadened."

Professor Eom Jung-sik of Gachon University Gil Medical Center argued, "For reporting severe adverse reactions, simplifying procedures such as personal information input and organizing data later through response teams or epidemiological investigations can reduce the workload of frontline medical institutions and enable more active reporting."

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