Confirmed Cases in Four Digits Daily... Citizens 'Anxious' Over Consecutive Vaccine Side Effect Petitions to Cheong

"High School Senior Son Diagnosed with Leukemia After Vaccination"... Consecutive Vaccine Side Effect Petitions to Cheong
Experts Say "No Time Margin in Vaccine Development Process"

A citizen is receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Recently, petitions complaining about side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine have been continuously posted, sparking controversy. An active nurse expressed frustration, saying her father showed symptoms of quadriplegia after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, while a parent of a high school senior asked for help, stating that her son was diagnosed with leukemia after vaccination.

Given the situation, some citizens are expressing anxiety over vaccine safety issues. In particular, some argue that the government should actively provide compensation for damages caused by adverse reactions after vaccination to reduce resistance to getting vaccinated. Experts pointed out that there was a lack of time in developing the COVID-19 vaccine.

Recently, a petition claiming that a previously healthy high school senior was suddenly diagnosed with leukemia after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine caused controversy.

The petitioner stated in a petition titled "COVID Vaccine Side Effects," "My son followed the government’s policy and got vaccinated, but nine days later, the doctor told us he had thrombocytopenia and increased white blood cells," and added, "After re-examination at a university hospital, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia."

She continued, "My son was usually healthy, but because of the government's 'increase vaccination rate' policy, he became a leukemia patient overnight," and expressed frustration, saying, "Even when I call the local health center, the responses are not good. Who should take responsibility for this? It’s very frustrating."

Earlier, an active nurse posted a petition demanding a thorough investigation, saying her father became quadriplegic after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine she personally booked for him.

In the petition, the petitioner said, "My father was diagnosed with Guillain-Barr? syndrome after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine and is currently hospitalized in the intensive care unit with quadriplegia, facial paralysis, and respiratory muscle paralysis," adding, "He was a healthy person with only hyperlipidemia as an underlying condition. I encouraged him to get vaccinated, assuring him it was safe, and personally made the reservation for him. I really regret it."

Recently, posts complaining about side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine have been continuously appearing on the Blue House National Petition Board. Photo by Blue House National Petition Board screen capture.

In addition, petitions related to vaccines continue to be posted, such as "My father in his 70s was hospitalized with speech disorder and paralysis symptoms due to cerebral infarction one month after vaccination," "Please clarify the unjust death of a police officer who died after receiving mixed AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines," and "My 78-year-old father went to the emergency room with vomiting, chills, headache, dizziness, and quadriplegia symptoms seven days after the second Pfizer dose." As of the 12th, about 140 petitions related to vaccine side effects have been posted.

Although cases complaining of vaccine side effects are increasing, it is not easy to clearly prove medical causality. So far, only seven cases of death or severe adverse reactions have been recognized as causally related to vaccination.

Accordingly, the government plans to provide medical expenses support of up to 10 million won even in cases where causality is unclear but severe adverse reactions occur. However, citizens’ anxiety remains.

Office worker Kim (30) said, "I recently made a vaccine reservation, but I can’t help feeling anxious," adding, "Isn’t it possible for people without underlying conditions to experience side effects? Even if most people don’t have side effects, isn’t there a chance that I or my family might be unlucky and suffer from them?"

Job seeker Lee (26) said, "I originally wanted to get the COVID-19 vaccine quickly, but after seeing posts about side effects, I became anxious," adding, "But for herd immunity, I think I have no choice but to get vaccinated despite the anxiety." She added, "I hope the government will be more proactive in compensating for vaccine side effects."

Experts pointed out that there was not much time to develop the vaccine. Professor Eom Jung-sik of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Gachon University Gil Medical Center said, "Compared to other vaccines, the COVID-19 vaccine seems to have more mild side effects. Various attempts should have been made during the vaccine development process to reduce side effects, but there was no time for that," adding, "As a result, people had no choice but to accept the side effects and get vaccinated."

He continued, "In fact, when vaccines are developed, side effect issues mostly exist. To solve these problems, vaccines need to be improved over a long period, but there was no such time for the COVID-19 vaccine," adding, "However, only by maximizing the vaccination rate can a large outbreak be prevented and severe cases reduced."

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