Education Superintendent Jang Hwikuk: "Government-Level Recommendation Needed for Pediatric and Adolescent Vaccination"

Jang Hwi-guk, Superintendent of Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Cho Hyung-joo] Jang Hwi-guk, Superintendent of Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, stated on the 24th that there is a need for the government to actively recommend vaccination for children and adolescents in response to the recent surge in student COVID-19 cases in Gwangju.

Since the government implemented the phased recovery of daily life policy on the 1st, student COVID-19 cases in Gwangju have surged. In October alone, there were only 44 confirmed student cases (including kindergartens and special schools), but as of November 23, 162 students have tested positive.

Regarding this, Superintendent Jang said, "Although the nationwide vaccination completion rate has exceeded 70% and the phased recovery policy has been implemented, the vaccination completion rate among students in Gwangju has still not surpassed 20%," adding, "To reduce student infections, strict adherence to quarantine principles is necessary along with active government recommendations for vaccination of children and adolescents."

In fact, looking at the status of student cases in Gwangju in November, only 13 high school students who have completed vaccination (over 80%) tested positive, whereas 79 elementary school students and 63 middle school students were confirmed cases.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education urgently switched to remote classes from the 22nd to the 26th for a total of six schools?three elementary schools and three middle schools in Gwangsan-gu?where group student infections recently occurred. They plan to promptly consider switching to remote classes for nearby schools if student cases arise in the future.

Superintendent Jang particularly emphasized the need for careful attention and care starting from home.

He continued, "Before attending school, families should conduct fever checks at home, and even if there are mild symptoms such as fever, cough, difficulty breathing, or chills, students must undergo PCR testing before going to school," and requested, "Parents’ careful attention is needed so that our children follow personal quarantine rules at academies or study rooms and refrain from entering multi-use facilities."

The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education plans to do its best to restore school educational capacity while maintaining the overall flow of full in-person attendance.

Superintendent Jang urged, "Please gather your interest and wisdom so that the efforts made over the past two years to protect our children from COVID-19 will not be in vain," and added, "Please protect the students with more thorough daily quarantine measures so that our children can take off their masks at home and school and freely spread the wings of hope."

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