COVID-19 Vaccine First Dose 28,622,306 People... 55.7% of the Population

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] As the proportion of people in South Korea who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine surpassed half of the total population, about 270,000 people received their first dose and 250,000 completed their second dose on the 28th.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team on the 29th, 273,234 people received their first dose the previous day. The number of new first-dose recipients on weekdays from the 23rd to the 25th last week was between 370,000 and 390,000 per day. On the first and second days of vaccination for those aged 18 to 49, the numbers increased to 646,550 and 598,603 respectively on the 26th and 27th. The decrease in vaccinations over the weekend is attributed to medical institutions and local vaccination centers, which are entrusted with vaccine administration, being closed or operating with reduced hours.

By vaccine type, the number of new first-dose recipients was 254,591 for Pfizer, 8,214 for AstraZeneca (AZ), 4,357 for Moderna, and 6,072 for Janssen.

As of midnight that day, the cumulative number of first-dose vaccinations in South Korea was 28,622,306, which is 55.7% of the total population (51,349,116). The cumulative first-dose vaccination rate exceeded 50% as of 11 a.m. on the 21st.

The cumulative first-dose vaccinations by vaccine are 14,092,099 for Pfizer, 11,004,906 for AstraZeneca, 2,348,175 for Moderna, and 1,177,126 for Janssen. People who received the Janssen vaccine, which requires only one dose, are included in both the first and second dose counts.

The number of people who completed the second dose was 254,978. By vaccine, this includes 231,846 for AstraZeneca, 16,756 for Pfizer, 6,072 for Janssen, and 304 for Moderna. Although 246,087 people completed AstraZeneca vaccination, 14,241 of them received AstraZeneca for the first dose and Pfizer for the second dose as a mixed vaccination.

The total number of people who completed both doses reached 14,602,951, which is about 28.4% of the population. The cumulative completed vaccinations by vaccine are 7,962,028 for AstraZeneca (including 1,416,413 mixed vaccinations), 5,397,819 for Pfizer, 65,978 for Moderna, and the remainder are Janssen recipients.

Regarding the vaccination status by target and institution, including nursing hospitals and facilities, hospital-level or higher medical institutions, vulnerable facilities, and military personnel, as well as vaccinations conducted by public health centers or individual institutions, the first-dose vaccination rate is 95.3%, and the second-dose rate is 77.7%. The first and second dose vaccination rates at nationwide entrusted medical institutions and vaccination centers are 59.6% and 28.8%, respectively.

As of midnight that day, the total remaining vaccine doses in South Korea were 10,507,600. This includes 5,454,800 doses of AstraZeneca, 3,204,000 doses of Pfizer, 1,396,100 doses of Moderna, and 456,300 doses of Janssen. The number of people vaccinated with leftover vaccines through standby lists managed by medical institutions or social networking service (SNS) applications such as Naver and Kakao increased by 50,632 (22,724 from standby lists and 27,908 from same-day SNS reservations). This brings the cumulative number of leftover vaccine recipients to 3,548,765.

AstraZeneca vaccines are recommended to have a 8 to 12-week interval, Pfizer vaccines a 3-week interval, and Moderna vaccines a 4-week interval between the first and second doses. However, reflecting the uncertainty of vaccine supply, the promotion team is temporarily extending the interval for mRNA vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) to up to 6 weeks.

The first-dose vaccination rate for those aged 50 to 59, who completed their first dose the previous day, was 84.5%. Out of 7,241,202 eligible individuals, 6,119,835 participated in vaccination. For the key target group of those aged 40 and under for the third quarter vaccination, additional reservations and vaccinations are currently underway simultaneously. As of midnight that day, the reservation rate for the 18 to 49 age group was 68.5%. Among the total 14,926,769 eligible individuals, 10,218,666 had completed reservations. The reservation rate was highest among those in their 40s at 74.3%, followed by 20s at 68.5%, late teens at 66.8%, and 30s at 61.6%.

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