Government "Considering Early Booster Shot Implementation for General Public Due to Increase in Breakthrough Infections" (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] As breakthrough infection cases have recently increased domestically, the government is considering advancing the booster shot (additional vaccination) schedule for the general public from the current 6 months.

Kim Ki-nam, Head of the Vaccination Planning Division at the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Task Force, stated at the regular briefing on the 4th, "Based on the analysis of breakthrough infection cases and vaccine effectiveness in our country, we plan to review whether it is necessary to advance the current standard of 6 months, which is generally implemented."

Currently, the government has shortened the booster shot interval by one month for some high-risk facilities such as nursing hospitals and psychiatric hospitals, allowing earlier vaccination. However, as breakthrough infections continue to occur, there are opinions that the vaccination interval for the general public should also be advanced.

Kim explained, "For group living or high-risk facilities such as nursing hospitals, care facilities, and medical institutions, vaccinations have been advanced to 5 months instead of 6 months, and this has been implemented since the end of October." He added, "The general vaccination interval currently uses 2 months as the standard for immunocompromised individuals or those vaccinated with Janssen, and 6 months as the standard interval for additional vaccinations for the elderly aged 60 and above, priority vaccination groups, and those aged 50 and above."

Kim further stated, "The reason for using 6 months as the standard is that the vaccination intervals approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are based on 6 months, and countries such as the UK, Germany, and France also use 6 months as the standard interval for additional vaccinations." He added, "Some countries use 8 months as the standard, while Israel uses 5 months as the standard for additional vaccinations."

He continued, "Our country will also review whether it is necessary to advance the (vaccination interval) standard. Once this is reviewed based on other countries' implementation cases and research results, we will provide separate guidance," he added.

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