Booster Shots for People in Their 50s, Starting from February Next Year?

Plan for Additional Vaccinations Announced on the 18th
Severe and Critical Patients Reach Another High at 495

On the 8th, when the additional COVID-19 vaccination (booster shot) began for Janssen vaccine recipients and inpatients, residents, and workers of nursing hospitals and nursing facilities, a Janssen vaccine recipient is receiving a booster shot at Yonsei With ENT Clinic in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As breakthrough infections of COVID-19 have been increasing recently, the plan to administer additional vaccinations (booster shots) to people in their 50s after 5 months is being seriously considered. If the vaccination interval, which is basically 6 months, is shortened to 5 months, people in their 50s are expected to receive additional vaccinations in February next year.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team on the 16th, the additional vaccination plan to be announced at the regular briefing on the afternoon of the 18th is expected to include an early additional vaccination plan for people in their 50s. As breakthrough infections have been rapidly occurring mainly among high-risk groups and the number of severe and critical patients has surged, the need for faster additional vaccinations has been raised, and there is a possibility that the current 6-month vaccination interval will be moved up by one month.

The interval between the primary vaccination completion and the additional vaccination is basically 6 months, except for immunocompromised individuals and Janssen vaccine recipients, for whom it is currently set at 2 months. However, the authorities have recently been operating the additional vaccination interval 4 weeks earlier, at 5 months, for the elderly aged 60 and over, high-risk groups, residents and workers in nursing hospitals and facilities, and healthcare workers. This is because the vaccine’s preventive effect decreases over time after completion of vaccination, especially among high-risk groups who were vaccinated early on. As breakthrough infections among people in their 50s have increased recently, the authorities are expanding the target group for shortening the additional vaccination interval.

On the morning of the 15th, a resident who came to receive an additional COVID-19 vaccination (booster shot) is filling out a health questionnaire at the COVID-19 vaccination center set up in the multipurpose gymnasium in Nam-gu, Gwangju. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Additional vaccinations for people in their 50s have been underway since the day before. However, this has been targeted at those receiving leftover vaccines and is not considered a full-scale additional vaccination. Considering that the second dose of the Moderna vaccine for the entire general population in their 50s only began on September 6, the overall additional vaccination will start around March next year based on the current 6-month interval. If the vaccination interval is shortened, they are expected to receive additional vaccinations around February next year.

People in their 50s, along with those in their 60s, have achieved the highest vaccination completion rate by age group at 94.4%, but they are also an age group where the spread is prominent. Among the 16,187 confirmed cases in the past week, people in their 50s accounted for 12.7%, the second highest after those in their 60s (18.5%), showing that breakthrough infections are also spreading among people in their 50s.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on this day, there were 2,125 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the number of severe and critical patients hospitalized reached 495, setting a new record high. The 500 patients, which the authorities set as the ‘first line of defense,’ are in a precarious situation. As of 5 p.m. the previous day, the operation rate of dedicated beds for severe COVID-19 patients in the metropolitan area was 76.1%, slightly down from 76.4% the day before, but still exceeding the 75% intensive care bed occupancy rate, which the government has presented as a key criterion for activating the ‘emergency plan.’

Accordingly, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held an online video meeting with heads of tertiary hospitals in the metropolitan area at 8 a.m. today to prepare measures for securing additional beds. The meeting discussed swiftly securing semi-intensive care beds according to the recently issued administrative order for bed expansion and transferring recovering patients whose condition has improved to semi-intensive care beds.

On the 15th, Kwon Deok-cheol, Minister of Health and Welfare, received a Moderna vaccine booster shot at a medical institution in Sejong. (Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare)

The authorities see additional vaccinations as the ultimate solution to prevent breakthrough infections and are considering administering vaccinations earlier. There is also a possibility that the interval could be shortened even more than the current 5 months. Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said to reporters after receiving the Moderna booster shot the day before, "We will listen to expert opinions and review them to finalize soon," adding, "It could be done a little earlier than 5 months." However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare acknowledged this but stated, "Adjusting the vaccination interval is a decision made by the Vaccination Expert Committee."

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