90% of Expired Quarantine Pass Holders Complete Third Vaccination Dose

Starting January 3 Next Year, Quarantine Pass '6-Month Validity Period' Introduced

Medical staff are administering vaccines at the Dongjak-gu Citizens' Sports Center, where the Dongjak-gu Vaccination Center is set up in Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Among the approximately 5.6 million people whose COVID-19 vaccine "vaccine pass (proof of vaccination/negative test)" validity period is about to expire, more than 90% have completed their third dose. Starting January 3 next year, the 'vaccine pass validity period system' will be implemented, which prohibits even those who have completed the second dose from using multi-use facilities if they do not receive the third dose within 6 months (180 days). When scanning a QR code with an expired validity period at places like restaurants or cafes, a 'ding-dong' warning sound will be heard.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) stated at a briefing on the 28th, "Among the 5.62 million people subject to (vaccine pass validity expiration), more than 90% have received the third dose," adding, "The number of unvaccinated people will decrease further if vaccinations continue during the remaining period." Those 5.62 million people who completed their second dose before July 6 will have their vaccine pass validity expire as of 0:00 on January 3 next year, and most of them have received additional vaccinations before the expiration date.

The health authorities believe that setting a validity period for the vaccine pass and operating December as a focused vaccination period for the elderly aged 60 and over have been effective. As of 0:00 on this day, the third dose vaccination rate for those aged 65 and over is 71.6%.

Ko Jaeyoung, spokesperson for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, "The proportion of confirmed cases aged 60 and over, who are at the highest risk of progressing to severe illness and death, had been continuously increasing but is now showing a positive change by decreasing as the third dose vaccination progresses."

Unlike other vaccines that require two doses, the second dose (additional vaccination) rate for Janssen vaccine recipients, who only need one dose, has also surpassed 80%. Among the 1,499,000 people who received the primary vaccination with Janssen, about 1.24 million have received additional vaccinations. The additional vaccination rate is 82.8%.

For other vaccines, the third dose can be administered only after three months following the second dose, but for Janssen, additional vaccination can be given two months after the single dose.

Besides Janssen recipients, immunocompromised individuals such as acute leukemia patients, organ transplant recipients, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infected patients, and those undergoing immunosuppressive therapy can receive additional vaccinations starting two months after the primary vaccination.

The health authorities have urged people to receive the third dose three months (90 days) after the previous dose regardless of the vaccine pass validity period.

Hong Jeongik, head of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Team's Vaccination Management Team, said, "If vaccinated early by mistake or due to unavoidable circumstances such as overseas travel, vaccination up to 6 days earlier is accepted, but this should not be considered a method to shorten the vaccination interval." If the third dose was received after 84 days following consultation with a doctor, the vaccination is recognized, but if additional vaccination was done earlier than 83 days, re-vaccination is required.

Regarding research results that show reduced preventive effects of the third dose against the Omicron variant, Hong emphasized, "It is true that the third dose is less effective against Omicron than Delta, but since the Delta variant cannot be countered with only the first and second doses, the third dose remains necessary."

Basic vaccination for adolescents aged 12 to 17 is also accelerating. According to the CDCH, the first dose vaccination rate for 12-17-year-olds, which was about 61% last week, increased by approximately 10 percentage points over the week to reach 71.1% as of 0:00 today.

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