522 Severe Cases 'Record High'... Additional Vaccinations for 60s Starting Next Month

Over 82% Critical Cases and 96% Deaths Are Aged 60 and Above
Hospital Bed Occupancy at 80%, Facing Near Exhaustion
Booster Shot Interval Shortened from 6 Months to 4 Months

On the 17th, when 3,187 new COVID-19 cases were reported, citizens continued to visit the screening clinic in front of Seoul City Hall to get tested. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy reporters Seo So-jeong and Lee Chun-hee] The interval for COVID-19 booster shots for people in their 60s has been shortened from 6 months to 4 months after completing the primary vaccination series, starting this December. For those in their 50s, the interval has been shortened to 5 months, with booster shots scheduled for February next year.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced this decision on the 17th during the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held at the Government Complex Sejong, stating, "Additional vaccinations to prevent breakthrough infections are urgent." He added, "With this decision, it is expected that a total of 13.78 million people will receive booster shots by the end of the year, which is more than double the originally planned number."

The government advanced the booster shot interval by up to about 2 months from the original 6 months due to a sharp increase in the proportion of severe and critical patients aged 60 and over over the past five weeks. The proportion of severe and critical patients aged 60 and above rose from 64.7% in the second week of October to 82.1% in the second week of November. In the second week of November, the number of deaths among those aged 60 and above was 123 (96.9%), accounting for the majority.

Among 545 severe breakthrough infection patients, 511 (93.8%) were aged 60 and above, and deaths among those aged 60 and above due to breakthrough infections reached 167, accounting for 98.2% of total deaths.

As COVID-19 cases increase due to the phased return to normal life, the medical response situation is worsening daily. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on this day, there were 3,187 new COVID-19 cases, marking the 3,000 range for the first time in over two months since September 25, when there were 3,270 cases. This is more than double the 1,583 cases reported four weeks ago on October 13.

The number of severe and critical patients currently hospitalized reached 522, surpassing the government's first threshold of 500. The ICU bed occupancy rate in Seoul exceeded 80.6% as of 5 p.m. the previous day, surpassing the 80% level considered to be effectively 'full.' The overall occupancy rate in the metropolitan area also rose to 76.7%. Prime Minister Kim expressed concern, saying, "While there is still capacity nationwide, looking only at the metropolitan area, it is a daily struggle to hold on."

The authorities plan to hold meetings with heads of tertiary hospitals in the metropolitan area to discuss expanding and optimizing bed capacity, and to transfer patients to non-metropolitan areas with available capacity. However, frontline workers are expressing concerns. A hospital official in the metropolitan area said, "We are essentially squeezing a dry towel. Even if we move other patients to create space, COVID-19 treatment requires three to four times the staff, and we are struggling to find where to secure this workforce."

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