Pregnant Women and Adolescents Aged 12-17 to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

On the 9th, a high school senior is receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at the vaccination center set up in Nowon-gu Sports Center, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Pregnant women and adolescents aged 12 to 17, who were previously not allowed to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, will now be permitted to get vaccinated.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), stated at the regular COVID-19 briefing on the 30th, "The Vaccination Expert Committee has decided to allow vaccination for pregnant women and children and adolescents aged 12 to 17, who had previously been excluded from COVID-19 vaccination."

The Vaccination Expert Committee, which met on the 25th, discussed vaccination for pregnant women and adolescents aged 12 to 17. As a result, pregnant women were classified as a high-risk group for COVID-19, and major countries have reported no safety issues following vaccination. Considering that the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, recommend vaccination for pregnant women, it was decided to include pregnant women as eligible recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine.

For adolescents aged 12 to 17, the Pfizer vaccine was recently approved domestically for those aged 12 and older, confirming its safety and efficacy. Since the WHO and other major countries have verified the effectiveness and safety after vaccination, it was recommended to include this age group as eligible for vaccination. Currently, 2,768,836 adolescents aged 12 to 17, including those preparing for this year's college entrance exam, are prioritized for vaccination. Except for 15,287 individuals (0.6%) who have received at least one dose, vaccination has not been permitted until now.

Director Jung stated, "The Promotion Team will establish a vaccination plan for pregnant women and children and adolescents reflecting the recommendations of the Vaccination Expert Committee and will announce it next month." Vaccination for these groups is planned to be implemented in the fourth quarter, after the first dose for those aged 18 to 49 is completed by September.

Director Jung also said, "We will work with related ministries such as the Ministry of Education, the Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Korean Pediatric Society to prepare detailed implementation plans to ensure safe vaccination."

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