Reservations for Ages 53-54 Start Today at 8 PM... Vaccinations Begin for High School Seniors and School Staff

Sequential Age-Based Reservations to Prevent Access Failures... Anxiety Remains

On the 19th, when COVID-19 vaccinations began for high school seniors and school staff, students are receiving vaccines at the vaccination center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] COVID-19 vaccination for people aged 53 to 54 will begin at 8 p.m. on the 19th. Following the major confusion caused by 'connection failures' and 'backdoor reservations' during the pre-booking for those aged 55 to 59, reservations for those aged 50 to 54 will be conducted separately by age group.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, only those aged 53 to 54 (born in 1967-1968) can make reservations on this day. Initially, the team planned to proceed with reservations for 3.9 million people aged 50 to 54 starting this day, but due to an overwhelming number of connections on the first day of reservations for those aged 55 to 59, the prepared vaccine supply ran out in just one day, leading to a revision of the plan. To prevent long waiting times caused by a large number of users accessing the system simultaneously at the start time, reservations will be made sequentially by age group.

Accordingly, reservations for those aged 50 to 52 (born in 1969-1971) will begin at 8 p.m. on the 21st, and from the 20th to the 24th, reservations can be made regardless of age group. People aged 50 to 54 will receive the Moderna vaccine at nationwide vaccination centers and designated medical institutions from the 16th to the 25th of next month. Originally, vaccinations were scheduled to start on the 9th of next month, but the schedule was postponed by one week due to vaccine supply issues.

However, there remains concern as connection failures may still occur during the reservation process for those aged 53 to 54. The promotion team stated, "If a large number of people try to make reservations simultaneously at the start time, site failures may occur," and added, "Reservations for those aged 50 to 54 will continue without a limit on the number of people until the deadline, so it is better to try making a reservation with some time difference rather than exactly at the start time."

On the 19th, when COVID-19 vaccinations began for high school seniors and school staff, students who received the vaccine were waiting in the adverse reaction monitoring area at the vaccination center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

On this day, COVID-19 vaccinations for adolescents will also begin. Vaccinations for a total of 650,000 people, including high school seniors and school staff, will be conducted at about 290 vaccination centers nationwide until the 30th of this month. They will receive the Pfizer vaccine, and the second dose period is from the 9th to the 20th of next month.

The government approved the domestic use of the Pfizer vaccine in March, allowing its use for adolescents aged 16 to 17. According to the promotion team, out of 651,000 students and school staff eligible, 97%, or 632,000 people, agreed to be vaccinated. Other examinees, such as repeat test takers who applied for the September College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) mock exam, will make pre-bookings by the end of this month and receive vaccinations next month.

The promotion team warned, "Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna may very rarely cause adverse reactions like myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination," and urged, "If you experience suspicious symptoms such as chest pain and pressure, difficulty breathing, or pain when breathing, please seek medical attention immediately."

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