Expert: "If Not Vaccinated, 40% of Children and Adolescents Could Be Infected with COVID-19"

"Clear that benefits of vaccination increase from individual health perspective"
"Professional societies conclude causality unlikely for acute leukemia after vaccination"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Professor Jung Jae-hoon of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Gachon University College of Medicine emphasized the necessity of COVID-19 vaccination for children and adolescents.

On the 15th, Professor Jung appeared on CBS Radio's 'Hanpan Seungbu' and stated, "If vaccinations are not administered, in the long term, nearly 40% of children and adolescents will inevitably become infected," adding, "Therefore, from the perspective of thoroughly protecting children's health, vaccination is recommended."

Professor Jung said, "The basic principle is whether the benefits outweigh the harms from the individual's health perspective after vaccination," and added, "It is clear that the benefits increase over time."

He continued, "Many citizens are concerned about the safety of the vaccine," and noted, "Looking at the safety data for adolescents, so far, there have been no severe adverse reactions or anything that would change the evaluation results."

Regarding concerns that myocarditis and pericarditis may occur after COVID-19 vaccination, Professor Jung explained, "The incidence of myocarditis or pericarditis caused by COVID-19 infection is several times higher than that caused by vaccination. According to U.S. data, the rate of myocarditis after COVID-19 infection is about 6 to 8 times higher," and added, "There have been more than 10 confirmed cases of myocarditis in Korea, but almost none have progressed to severe cases."

On cases of acute leukemia occurring after vaccination, Professor Jung said, "As someone who researches adverse reactions, I am cautious in commenting, but professional academic societies have concluded that causality is unlikely," and explained, "Just because there is a temporal sequence does not mean there is a causal relationship. However, some awareness of the possibility of such issues is inevitable."

He added, "Therefore, if data clearly showed the incidence rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, it would provide reassurance, but unfortunately, our country does not yet have a system capable of quickly producing such data."

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