Unvaccinated Group's COVID Infection Risk 2.4 Times Higher Than Second Dose Recipients... Severe Risk 11 Times Higher (Update)

On the 13th, as the spread of COVID-19 continued, citizens are getting tested at a temporary screening clinic set up at Peace Plaza in World Cup Park, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The risk of COVID-19 infection among the unvaccinated group was found to be 2.4 times higher compared to those who completed the second dose. The risk of severe illness and death was also 11 times and 9 times higher, respectively, in the unvaccinated group compared to those who completed the second dose.

On the 13th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced this while evaluating the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in preventing infection, severe illness, and death among domestic residents aged 12 and older.

The risk of severe illness and death significantly decreased after the third dose. Lee Sang-won, head of the Epidemiological Investigation and Analysis Team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, said, "Analyzing the progression to severe illness among confirmed cases based on vaccination status, those confirmed after the third dose had a 91.5% lower risk of progressing to severe illness, including death, compared to those confirmed without vaccination."

He explained, "Compared to those confirmed after the second dose, those confirmed after the third dose had a 57% lower likelihood of developing severe illness, and when analyzed only for those aged 60 and above, the reduction effect was over 92.2%." As of the 5th, among 1,806,974 people who completed the third dose, 542 (0.030%) were confirmed cases, with only one severe case and one death reported.

However, as the number of new cases surged to the 7,000 range, the average daily incidence rate increased across all age groups.

According to the Disease Control Headquarters, during the recent week (December 5?11), particularly the age groups under 19 and 60 and above showed continuously high incidence rates. The weekly average daily incidence rate for those aged 60 and above was 16.3 per 100,000 population, showing a steep rise compared to 5.7 in the second week of November. Those aged 60 and above accounted for about 35% of all confirmed cases.

Infections are also increasing among school-age groups. Their average daily incidence rate rose about 1.5 times from the previous week to 15 per 100,000 population, and the rate for those aged 15 and under was 16.7 per 100,000 population.

Additionally, among confirmed cases under 18 years old, the average daily confirmed cases exceeded 1,000, and the incidence rate for the 12?15 age group, which has a low vaccination rate, was 17.2 per 100,000 population?2.3 times that of the 16?17 age group and 1.9 times that of adults.

Lee said, "With daily confirmed cases exceeding 7,000, medical response capacity is reaching its limit, and the Omicron variant is spreading in the community, raising the sense of crisis. The most important means to suppress the spread of the epidemic is vaccination and adherence to quarantine rules. We once again urge active participation in vaccination and practicing social distancing."

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