'With Corona', The Key is Vaccination Rate Among Young Adults

Reservation Rate Only in the 60% Range for Ages 18-49
Patient Increase Rate Is the Steepest
But Severity and Fatality Are Low, Raising Concerns About Vaccination Avoidance

On the morning of the 26th, when full-scale vaccination for young and middle-aged adults (18-49 years old) began, a citizen is receiving the Pfizer vaccine at Sarang Hospital in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. 2021. 8. 26 Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As discussions on the ‘with corona’ strategy, which seeks coexistence between daily life and COVID-19, intensify, authorities have set a guideline of ‘80% adult vaccination completion’ for with corona. To achieve this, it is pointed out that the vaccination reservation rate among 18-49-year-olds, currently in the 60% range, must be further increased.

‘90% Elderly, 80% Adults’ May Enable Transition in Quarantine Measures

According to quarantine authorities on the 27th, Jeong Eun-kyung, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), stated in a briefing the day before, "To transition or supplement the quarantine strategy called with corona, it is necessary to have at least 70% vaccination coverage, ideally over 90% for the elderly, and over 80% for the general adult population." This indicates that the government’s previously stated herd immunity target of 70% of the population is being raised for high-risk groups and socially active adults who require higher vaccination rates.

As of midnight the previous day, the vaccination completion rate for those aged 60 and over was 60.4%, and for adults aged 18 and over, it was 30%, far below the target. Director Jeong added, "We need to raise the vaccination rate, which is a prerequisite, as much as possible by the end of October and prepare to control the outbreak through various quarantine measures. This will make the transition to with corona, which reduces damage, possible. However, even with with corona, indoor mask-wearing will likely remain the last personal quarantine rule to be lifted."

However, even if the target vaccination rate is raised, the actual number of target vaccinees is expected to remain largely unchanged. The previously set 70% target, or 36 million people, was based on the entire population of 51.35 million, so 80% of adults, which is 35.31 million, is a similar number of vaccinees.

Professor Kim Yoon of Seoul National University’s Department of Health Policy and Management emphasized, "The transition to with corona should occur only after protection of high-risk groups aged 50 and above is completed. Since there is no practical difference between 79% and 80%, evaluation of the situation is more important than a precise figure."

Need to Raise Low Reservation Rate Among 18-49-Year-Olds

The low vaccination reservation rate among 18-49-year-olds, the last puzzle piece in vaccine inoculation, could become a final obstacle. The pre-reservation rate for 18-49-year-olds is only 67.2%.

Authorities stated, "Considering 8.14 million who have already been vaccinated or reserved under other groups, it is expected that 81.5% of 18-49-year-olds will participate in vaccination," but this is significantly lower compared to previous pre-reservations. This seems to be due to a strong belief that "young people have a low risk of COVID-19 infection, and even if infected, the severe and fatality rates are low, so it is better not to get vaccinated with vaccines that may cause adverse reactions."

Authorities and experts encourage vaccination, emphasizing that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks, and that young people also face high risks of infection if unvaccinated. As the fourth wave gradually spreads, those in their 20s to 40s show the steepest increase in case numbers among all age groups. The daily confirmed case rate per 100,000 people for those aged 20-40, which was 2.7 in the second week of July during the early outbreak, surged to 4.4 last week (15-21). Over 6,000 cases occur weekly. In contrast, those aged 70 and above, most of whom are vaccinated, still show a low case rate of around 1.2.

For people in their 20s, the severe and fatality rates are 0.15% and 0.02%, respectively, which are much lower than the overall averages of 2.31% and 0.93%. However, since May, among 13,415 confirmed cases in their 20s, all 33 severe cases and 1 death were unvaccinated. Among those in their 30s and 40s, only one vaccinated person developed severe symptoms, and there were no deaths.

Director Jeong Eun-kyung urged, "More than 95% of recent confirmed cases, severe cases, and deaths have been found among unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals. Since the risk is increasing among young and middle-aged adults due to the Delta variant, we ask for prompt participation in vaccination."

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