Authorities: "Risk of COVID Death... Unvaccinated Individuals Are 9 Times Higher Than Fully Vaccinated"

"Risk of Severe Illness: Unvaccinated Individuals 11 Times Higher Than Vaccinated... Infection Risk 2.3 Times Higher"

On the 23rd, as the spread of COVID-19 continued, medical staff at Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, a hospital dedicated to COVID-19 treatment, were transporting patients. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight that day, the number of critically ill patients reached 1,083, marking the highest ever recorded. The number of deaths also reached a record high of 109. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The quarantine authorities announced that unvaccinated individuals have a 9 times higher risk of death compared to those who have received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, Kim Ginam, Head of the Vaccination Planning Division of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Task Force, emphasized this during a regular briefing, stating, "It is necessary for unvaccinated individuals aged 18 and over to promptly participate in vaccination."

Kim explained, "As of the second week of December, the risk of COVID-19 infection was 2.3 times higher for unvaccinated individuals compared to those who received the second dose," and "the risks of severe illness and death were 11 times and 9 times higher, respectively, for the unvaccinated."

He added, "As of midnight today, a total of 13.7 million people have completed the third dose. About 65% of the population aged 60 and over have received the third dose," and "by the end of December, 86% of those aged 60 and over and 67% of other age groups have made reservations, so the vaccination rate is expected to continue increasing."

Currently, 1.83 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 have received the first dose, resulting in a first-dose vaccination rate of 66% and a reservation rate of 70%. Approximately 83% of those aged 16 to 17 and about 65% of those aged 12 to 15 have made reservations.

Kim urged, "Vaccination is the most effective and best means to protect individual health from COVID-19 and minimize social damage," encouraging those who have completed the second dose to receive the third dose and unvaccinated individuals to get vaccinated. He also reported that among confirmed cases aged 12 to 17 in the past two weeks, 86.6% were unvaccinated, and all severe cases occurred in the unvaccinated group.

The adverse reaction rate to the COVID-19 vaccine is currently 0.42%, with 401,998 reports out of a total of 95.57 million vaccinations administered. Among these, 96.3% were common adverse reactions such as muscle pain and headaches.

For adolescents aged 18 and under, 12,338 adverse reactions were reported out of 3.9 million vaccinations, resulting in a reporting rate of 0.32%.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency will make decisions regarding vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 after thoroughly reviewing the approval by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), vaccination status abroad, and domestic and international research results.

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