'Only Trust the Vaccine' Large-Scale Vaccination Resumes After 3 Weeks

70,000 Soldiers Scheduled for Enlistment Today Begin Pfizer Vaccination
380,000 Educators to Start Pfizer Tomorrow

7.42 Million People in Their 50s Begin Moderna Pre-Booking Today

Vaccine administration, which had recently stalled, resumed in earnest on the 12th. The target groups include military enlistees mostly in their 20s and 30s, as well as caregivers for infants and young children. Advance reservations for vaccinations for people in their 50s have also begun. The photo shows the vaccination center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on that day. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Large-scale COVID-19 vaccinations will resume after three weeks.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, as of midnight on the 12th, 15,586,937 people have completed their first dose. The vaccination rate against the population is 30.4%. Since the first dose recipients exceeded 15 million on the 19th of last month, achieving a vaccination rate of 29.3%, progress has been sluggish. In the following 22 days up to this date, only 555,180 new vaccinations were administered. The vaccination rate increased by only 1.1 percentage points. Meanwhile, the weekly average number of local confirmed cases during the same period jumped about threefold from 445 on the 19th of last month to 1,141 on this day.

Starting with 70,000 soldiers scheduled for enlistment on this day, Pfizer vaccine vaccinations will begin for 380,000 people including daycare centers, kindergartens, and first and second-grade elementary school staff on the 13th, marking the resumption of vaccination in earnest. In particular, vaccinations for education and care personnel, originally scheduled to start on the 28th, were moved up due to the arrival of 700,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine through a 'vaccine swap' with Israel.

Jung Eun-kyung, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, explained, "The group was initially planned to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine in June, but the vaccination schedule was changed," adding, "Since the list has already been secured, early vaccination can proceed." The other 746,000 education personnel will receive vaccinations as scheduled starting on the 28th.

On the 13th, autonomous vaccinations by local governments using vaccines secured through the swap will also begin. The target group includes 340,000 workers in high-contact public service jobs such as delivery workers and sanitation workers in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas, where the outbreak is severe.

On the 21st of last month, when the Moderna vaccine administration for medical personnel under 30 at tertiary hospitals officially began, medical staff received the Moderna vaccine at the vaccination center of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On this day, pre-registration for Moderna vaccine vaccinations began for 7,424,000 general citizens in their 50s. From now until the 17th, 3,524,000 people aged 55?59 will make reservations, followed by the entire 50s group, including 3,900,000 people aged 50?54, making reservations from the 19th to the 24th. Vaccinations will start on the 26th.

Although this is the first large-scale Moderna vaccine vaccination in the country, vaccine supply remains a critical issue. Currently, about 807,400 doses of Moderna vaccine remain domestically, which is only 10.9% of the target population in their 50s. The government plans to receive 40 million doses of Moderna vaccine within this year.

Vaccinations with Pfizer vaccine for 640,000 high school seniors and high school staff will also begin on the 19th, and the vaccination rate is expected to rise significantly. The health authorities anticipate that if vaccinations proceed as planned and quarantine rules are followed, the daily new confirmed cases will decrease to around 260?415 by the end of September, when the fourth wave is expected to subside.

However, the lack of vaccination among the 60?74-year-old elderly who refuse vaccination is considered a risk factor in managing quarantine through vaccination. This group, numbering 1.66 million, is expected to be vaccinated only after the first-dose vaccination campaign for the entire population is completed.

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