Cases of COVID-19 Vaccinations with Expired Vaccines Continue... Government Announces "Enhanced Inspections"

At Korea University Guro Hospital in Seoul, about 140 people were vaccinated on the 26th and 27th of last month with COVID-19 vaccines that were close to or past the recommended administration period after thawing. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency will review and decide on re-vaccination through an expert review committee. Photo by Mun Honam, May 5, Korea University Guro Hospital, Guro-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] As cases of administering expired COVID-19 vaccines increase domestically, public anxiety is intensifying.

On the 5th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that it will strengthen inspections of vaccination institutions following a series of cases of COVID-19 vaccine misadministration at frontline medical sites.

According to the KDCA, at Korea University Guro Hospital in Seoul, a total of 147 people were vaccinated on August 26 and 27 with vaccines whose refrigerated expiration dates were either imminent or had already passed?77 people on the 26th and 70 people on the 27th.

The KDCA stated, "Among the 77 people vaccinated on the 26th, it is not possible to distinguish between the 35 who received misadministration and the 42 who were vaccinated correctly," adding, "We do not know which 35 individuals correspond to the misadministration cases." Although the refrigerated expiration dates differed, the vaccine lot numbers were the same, making differentiation impossible.

At a hospital located in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, cases of administering vaccines past their refrigerated expiration dates also occurred. Pfizer vaccines with a refrigerated expiration date of August 19 were administered to a total of 21 people on August 20, 25, and 26.

In response to inquiries about the possibility of revaccination for those who received expired vaccines, the KDCA replied, "The decision on revaccination will be reviewed through expert consultation, considering safety and efficacy, including cases where both refrigerated expiration and distribution periods have passed."

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines must be administered within 31 days from the start of refrigerated thawing, regardless of the vaccine’s overall expiration date.

At a previous briefing, Kwon Geun-yong, head of the Vaccination Implementation Management Team at the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Group, said, "Guidelines for medical institutions or vaccination centers to prevent misadministration instruct that the distribution expiration date marked on the vial must be checked before vaccination," adding, "This is emphasized and continuously educated through ongoing communication with the medical community and local governments."

The KDCA added regarding measures to prevent misadministration, "We will continue to strengthen prevention measures through regular communication with local governments and the medical community," and "We will also conduct regular inspections of the status of vaccines nearing expiration held at entrusted medical institutions in the future."

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