Vaccinations for Ages 55-59 Start Tomorrow... Reservation Rates: 86% for Ages 55-59, 82% for Ages 50-54

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] Starting tomorrow, COVID-19 vaccinations for people in their 50s will begin, and it has been finally confirmed that 84% of the eligible recipients have completed their reservations.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team on the 25th, out of 7,347,256 people eligible for vaccination in their 50s (born between 1962 and 1971), 6,172,063 had made advance reservations, achieving an 84% reservation rate as of the previous day.

Advance reservations for those in their 50s started on the 12th with the 55?59 age group, followed by the 53?54 and 50?52 age groups, and closed at 6 p.m. the day before.

Among them, the 55?59 age group, who began reservations on the 12th, completed reservations for 3,043,805 people, achieving an 86% reservation rate, while the 50?54 age group, who started reservations on the 19th, completed reservations for 3,128,258 people, recording an 82.2% reservation rate.

From the 26th, COVID-19 vaccinations for the 55?59 age group will begin at approximately 13,000 designated medical institutions nationwide.

People in their 50s will receive messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, specifically Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Vaccinations for the 55?59 age group will start on the 26th, and for the 50?54 age group on the 16th of next month, with the entire vaccination schedule for those in their 50s completing by the 28th of next month.

Those receiving vaccines from the 26th to the 31st will mainly be administered the Moderna vaccine.

Vaccinees in the metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon) will receive the Pfizer vaccine. However, 251 designated medical institutions in the metropolitan area, which were scheduled to receive only the Moderna vaccine, will administer the Moderna vaccine. Relevant information, including the type of vaccine, will be individually notified to the vaccine recipients in advance.

According to the Promotion Team, the Vaccination Expert Committee currently allows a maximum interval of up to six weeks between doses, although the standard intervals for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are three and four weeks respectively, depending on the medical institution’s vaccination conditions, the individual circumstances of the vaccine recipients, and vaccine supply schedules.

Accordingly, starting with Pfizer vaccine recipients from the 26th, the second dose reservation will temporarily apply a four-week interval until August. This postpones the original three-week interval by one week. The Moderna vaccine will maintain the four-week interval.

The 50?54 age group is also expected to receive Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

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