Most people in their 50s who booked vaccination appointments in the fourth week of August will receive the Pfizer vaccine

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] From the 23rd to the 28th, most people in their 50s receiving the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered the Pfizer vaccine.

On the 16th, the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Promotion Team) announced at a regular briefing that for people in their 50s receiving their first dose during the fourth week of this month (8.23?28), the Pfizer vaccine will be administered regardless of region. However, 726 designated medical institutions that only handle the Moderna vaccine are expected to continue administering the Moderna vaccine to people in their 50s as before.

For the first dose vaccinations for people in their 50s conducted from today until the 22nd, designated medical institutions in the metropolitan area will use the Pfizer vaccine, while other regions will use the Moderna vaccine. However, from next week, vaccinations will mainly be carried out using the Pfizer vaccine.

Initially, the government announced that the vaccine for people in their 50s would be Moderna, but due to supply issues with the Moderna vaccine, the plan was adjusted to also administer the Pfizer vaccine, which is from the same mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) family.

The Promotion Team will individually inform those who have reservations for vaccination next week about the vaccine type before their vaccination date. The first dose schedule for all people in their 50s is expected to be completed all at once by the 28th.

Regarding this, the Promotion Team emphasized, "To respond to the Delta variant mutation, it is important for those who have completed the first dose to also complete the second dose." They added, "Especially for high-risk groups such as the elderly aged 60 and above, vaccination not only provides protection against infection, severe illness, and death but also helps prevent further transmission to family members."

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