Domestic 'Dolpa Gamyeok' Suspected Cases Increase by 1,149... Adult Confirmed Cases 10.2% in 2 Weeks

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] The number of presumed domestic 'breakthrough infection' cases, where individuals test positive for COVID-19 despite having received all recommended doses of the vaccine, continues to rise. In the past two weeks, about 10% of confirmed cases among adults aged 18 and over were estimated to be breakthrough infections.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 22nd, as of the 12th, 5,880 fully vaccinated individuals in Korea tested positive, counted as presumed breakthrough infection cases. This is an increase of 1,149 cases in just six days compared to the count on the 6th (4,731 cases). This corresponds to 0.040% of the total 14,611,702 fully vaccinated individuals. In other words, there were 40.2 confirmed cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated people.

Looking at presumed breakthrough infection cases by month, the numbers gradually increased from 2 in April, 7 in May, and 116 in June, then surged as the vaccination pace accelerated, recording 1,180 in July, 2,765 in August, and 1,810 in September. By age group, those in their 30s had the highest breakthrough infection rate at 0.110% (110.1 cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated individuals) among all age groups.

By vaccine type, the breakthrough infection rate was highest among Janssen recipients at 0.161% (161.2 cases per 100,000), followed by Pfizer at 0.034% (33.5 cases per 100,000), AstraZeneca at 0.028% (27.6 cases per 100,000), and Moderna at 0.024% (24.2 cases per 100,000). The breakthrough infection rate among those who received a first dose of AstraZeneca followed by a second dose of Pfizer (heterologous vaccination) was 0.024%, lower than those who received two doses of the same vaccine. Among the presumed breakthrough infection cases, 68 were severe or critical, and 28 resulted in death.

Additionally, among 1,619 presumed breakthrough infection cases analyzed for variant viruses, 86.2% (1,396 cases) were confirmed to be infected with major variants. The 'Delta' variant, which is driving the recent fourth wave, accounted for the largest number with 1,363 cases, followed by 30 cases of the 'Alpha' variant, 2 cases of the 'Gamma' variant, and 1 case of the 'Beta' variant.

Focusing only on new adult confirmed cases in the past two weeks, the breakthrough infection rate reached 10.2%. Among 20,895 confirmed cases aged 18 and over from the 29th of last month to the 11th of this month, 2,140 (10.2%) were fully vaccinated individuals who had received all recommended doses and passed two weeks after the final dose. The remaining 18,755 (89.8%) were either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. Specifically, 12,622 (60.4%) were unvaccinated, and 6,133 (29.4%) were partially vaccinated, having received only the first dose or not yet passed 14 days after completing vaccination.

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