Stalled Vaccine Inoculation... Can the '85% Vaccination Rate' Be Achieved?

80% First Dose Vaccination Rate and 76% Completion Rate as of the 2nd
Virtually All Adults Willing to Vaccinate Have Completed Vaccination

Vaccination for Ages 12-17 is Crucial
Concerns About Side Effects and Hesitation to Book Appointments Make Goal Achievement Uncertain

On the afternoon of the 1st, when COVID-19 vaccinations for those aged 12 to 15 (born between 2006 and 2009) began, a teenager received a vaccine at a pediatric clinic in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As the "step-by-step return to daily life (With Corona)" has begun, the essential increase in vaccination rates for a complete return to normalcy is experiencing stagnation. While vaccinations for adults who wished to be vaccinated have been largely completed, improving the vaccination rate among children and adolescents has emerged as a key task to achieve the "85% full vaccination rate."

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team as of midnight on the 2nd, the first-dose vaccination rate stands at 80.3%, and the full vaccination rate is 75.6%. Unless allergic reactions or anaphylaxis occur after the first dose, most people receive the second dose, and with the shortened interval between doses, the full vaccination rate is rising rapidly. However, the first-dose vaccination rate has slowed its upward trend.

It took less than a month for the first-dose vaccination rate to rise from 50% (August 21) to 70% (September 17), but it took about a month and a half to increase by another 10 percentage points to reach 80% on the 29th of last month, indicating a slowdown in growth.

Concerns are emerging that the target full vaccination rate of 85%, which the authorities set as the "herd immunity achievement point," may be unattainable. Kwon Jun-wook, the second deputy head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, explained last month, "When the full vaccination rate reaches 85%, herd immunity will roughly reach 80%," providing the theoretical background. However, experts emphasize that due to the Delta variant, forming herd immunity has become practically difficult, making it crucial to maximize vaccination rates.

The problem is that most adults who want to be vaccinated have already completed their vaccinations, so there is little room for an increase in vaccination rates. Currently, more than 2.4 million people still need to be vaccinated to reach an 85% first-dose vaccination rate. According to the Promotion Team, the first-dose vaccination rate for those aged 50 and over rose only 1.5 percentage points (about 320,000 people) from 92.4% on the 1st of last month to 93.9% the day before, over the course of a month.

The only remaining solution is vaccinating the 7.2 million people under 18, the only age group for which vaccination has not yet fully started, but this too is showing warning signs. The pre-registration rate for vaccinations for 12-15-year-olds, which began the day before, was only 27.2%. So far, only 508,000 out of 1,864,000 children and adolescents aged 12-15 have completed reservations. This is significantly lower than the 65.4% pre-registration rate for 16-17-year-olds conducted earlier. The case of a teenage male student who died 75 days after receiving the Pfizer vaccine on the 27th of last month has also fueled anxiety. Authorities stated, "An investigation is currently underway," and since causality has not been confirmed, they caution against overinterpretation. However, the authorities plan to promote safety and further increase vaccination rates, noting that there is still plenty of time left in the reservation period for 12-15-year-olds and that vaccinations through leftover vaccines are also possible.

Pfizer's pediatric COVID-19 vaccine [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Additionally, if the vaccination age is expanded to include approximately 3.2 million children aged 5-11, for whom vaccination is not yet authorized domestically, there is potential to further increase vaccination rates. The United States will begin vaccinating children aged 5-11 with the Pfizer vaccine at one-third the usual dose starting on the 8th. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for 5-11-year-olds on the 1st (local time).

However, cases where the full vaccination rate exceeds 85% are rare worldwide. Most countries that rapidly increased vaccination rates, including South Korea, are experiencing stagnation in the 80% range. According to the international statistics site "Our World in Data," Portugal (87.2%) and the UAE (86.8%) have surpassed the 85% full vaccination rate. Singapore's full vaccination rate is 84%.

Professor Jung Jae-hoon of Gachon University College of Medicine said, "It is likely that the domestic vaccination rate will remain in the low 80% range," adding, "It is important to encourage vaccination among unvaccinated high-risk groups and to enhance effectiveness through booster shots for those already vaccinated."

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