Authorities: "Novavax Vaccine Expected to Be Approved Domestically in January... To Be Used for 1st and 2nd Doses" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The domestic approval for the use of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine by the U.S. pharmaceutical company Novavax is expected to be completed by January next year.

On the afternoon of the 30th, Kim Ginam, head of the Vaccination Planning Division of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, stated at the regular briefing of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), "Currently, the approval application for the Novavax vaccine for those aged 18 and over is under review," confirming this.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has been reviewing the approval of the Novavax vaccine, which is being contract-manufactured by SK Bioscience, since the 15th of last month. Kim explained, "It is expected that the approval will likely be completed in January, and upon introduction, we are considering prioritizing its use for the first and second doses for unvaccinated individuals."

"First Death Report After Vaccination Among 16-Year-Olds"

Vaccinations for adolescents turning 12 years old next year will begin in January. Those born in 2010 will be eligible for vaccination after their birthday next year. However, the vaccine pass will not apply to those born in 2010 during next year. Those born in 2004, turning 18 next year, can receive a third dose three months after their second dose.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the first death report after vaccination among 16-year-olds has occurred. A government official said, "An epidemiological investigation is underway by local governments, and after the causality is reviewed by the damage investigation team, the related information will be transparently announced." It is understood that this student died after the second dose.

The Vaccination Injury Compensation Specialized Committee has reviewed 8,679 cases out of a total of 33,715 damage compensation applications up to the 16th meeting on the 28th, deciding to compensate approximately 40%, or 3,438 cases. Currently, the authorities are also providing up to 30 million KRW per person for medical expenses and other costs to patients with severe or special interest adverse reactions excluded from compensation due to insufficient evidence of causality with vaccination.

Kim said, "So far, a total of 354 people have been confirmed for support," adding, "From next year, deceased persons will also be included in the support target and will receive 50 million KRW, with retroactive application planned." From next year, applicants for damage compensation will be notified of the review progress via text messages.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the current adverse reaction reporting rate as of the 26th is 0.41%. For the third dose, the adverse reaction reporting rate was 0.11%, lower than the first dose (0.53%) and second dose (0.40%).

"74.7% of Those Aged 60 and Over Have Received Third Dose... Unvaccinated Group Has 2.4 Times Higher Infection Risk Than Fully Vaccinated"

As of midnight on this day, a total of 17.12 million people (33.4% of the population) have completed the third dose. Among those aged 60 and over, 74.7% have been vaccinated. Vaccination rates among adolescents aged 12 to 17 have steadily increased, with 73% having received the first dose.

Kim stated, "As the third dose vaccination rate among the elderly increases, the proportion of those aged 60 and over among total confirmed cases decreased from 35.4% on the 1st to 20% on this day," adding, "The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters evaluated the effect of the third dose vaccination for those aged 60 and over, finding that the unvaccinated group had a 2.4 times higher risk of COVID-19 infection compared to the fully vaccinated group, and the infection prevention effect of the third dose was about 82.9%."

Regarding the recent increase in confirmed cases among 0-9 year-olds, Kim said, "Infections are increasing due to community contact, and cluster infections in daycare centers and kindergartens are rising," adding, "Due to the rapid transmissibility of the Omicron variant, additional transmission within households is possible, so it is important for guardians, child-related institution workers, and outsiders to comply with quarantine rules and get vaccinated."

Additionally, regarding the Omicron variant PCR reagent test introduced from today, Kim Eunjin, head of the Testing and Analysis Team at the CDCH, explained, "We are conducting full analysis on all specimens available for analysis from confirmed overseas arrivals," adding, "For community cases, it depends on the capacity of local governments, but sampling of unclassified cluster cases is conducted, and on average, about 10-20% of total confirmed cases are tested."

According to the quarantine authorities on the 30th, the Omicron diagnostic kit, the world's first to be introduced, will be used from today at 23 public institutions nationwide (5 regional response centers and 18 city/provincial health and environment research institutes). Previously, the analysis method could only identify four variants including Delta, and confirming Omicron required additional whole genome sequencing, but with this diagnostic kit, Omicron infection can be confirmed within 3 to 4 hours after a COVID-19 positive diagnosis.

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