Yeongdeungpo-gu Operates Foreigners-Only Vaccination Center... Gwangjin-gu Runs 'Visiting Vaccination Center' for People with Developmental Disabilities

[Seoul District News] Yeongdeungpo-gu Operates 'Foreigners-Only Vaccination Center' at Yeongdeungpo Health Branch (Digital-ro 441) in Daerim-dong from Jan 27 to Mar 31 for Registered and Unregistered Foreigners... Pfizer Vaccination at Gwangjin Lifelong Education Center for Developmentally Disabled on 25th Morning... Seongbuk-gu Social Economy Organizations Social Investment Fund Loans

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Chae Hyun-il) has removed the barriers to vaccination for foreigners.

From January 27 to March 31, the district will operate a "Foreigners-Only Vaccination Center" at the Yeongdeungpo-gu Health Branch Office located in Daerim-dong (441 Digital-ro), where both registered and unregistered foreigners can receive one-stop vaccination services.

With the recent spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and the increasing rate of confirmed cases among foreigners, the pandemic is becoming more of a reality.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, as of January 12, the third-dose vaccination rate among Koreans is 42.5%, while the rate among foreigners is about half at 24.6%. Additionally, the rate of increase in confirmed foreign cases has sharply risen, reaching 8.3% in the first week of January.

※ Proportion of confirmed foreign cases: (4th week of Dec 2021) 3.5% → (5th week of Dec 2021) 5.2% → (1st week of Jan) 8.3%

In response, the district decided to operate the "Foreigners-Only Vaccination Center" to increase vaccination rates among foreign residents, block the spread of infectious diseases in the community, and protect the health of foreign residents. It is expected to raise vaccination rates among foreigners residing in Korea who have previously avoided vaccination due to concerns about disadvantages.

The center will operate from January 27 to March 31 on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vaccination is available to any foreigner, including first, second, and additional doses. Vaccines administered will be mRNA-based vaccines, including Pfizer.

The staff consists of six people, including one doctor and two nurses. Considering consultation time and post-vaccination adverse reaction monitoring, about 150 foreigners are expected to be vaccinated daily.

Especially for unregistered foreigners, after receiving a temporary management number on-site and completing registration and reservation, vaccination can be administered immediately. The temporary management number can be issued by presenting an ID that can verify identity, such as a passport.

However, if a passport cannot be brought due to loss or employer custody, a copy of the passport or visa application form that can verify the name, passport number, and date of birth can also be submitted for issuance.

Furthermore, for those receiving the third dose who have forgotten their management number, vaccination is possible after verification of basic vaccination completion and vaccine type through inquiry.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, "Breaking the chain of infectious disease through vaccination is most important for returning to daily life," and added, "We will do our best to eliminate blind spots in vaccination."

Gwangjin-gu (District Mayor Kim Seon-gap) operated a "Visiting Vaccination Center" for people with developmental disabilities on the 25th.

This "Visiting Vaccination Center" was launched to protect people with developmental disabilities who have difficulty voluntarily complying with quarantine rules and are at high risk of infection.

On that morning, at the Gwangjin Developmental Disabilities Lifelong Education Center located in Jayang-dong, a total of nine people with developmental disabilities who had completed their second dose and passed three months (90 days) received their third Pfizer vaccination.

The medical staff, consisting of two doctors, two nurses, one administrative staff, and one transport staff, carefully checked the health status of the recipients before and after vaccination and conducted thorough preliminary examinations. Additionally, an ambulance was prepared in case of any adverse reactions after vaccination, but fortunately, none of the recipients experienced any significant side effects.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, "We launched this visiting vaccination center with the hope that people with developmental disabilities could comfortably receive their third dose," and added, "We will continue to make various efforts to eliminate blind spots in vaccination."

He also urged, "We ask all residents to participate in the third dose vaccination and actively comply with quarantine rules such as wearing masks."

Gwangjin-gu previously operated a visiting vaccination center at Gangbyeon Technomart on January 12. It was conducted for workers at workplaces and residents who wanted the third dose, providing convenience for residents and preventing community cluster infections, receiving great response.

As of January 25, 2022, 0:00, Gwangjin-gu's vaccination completion rate is 90.8%, about 3% higher than Seoul and 4% higher than the national average. The third-dose vaccination rate is 49.2%.

Seongbuk-gu (District Mayor Lee Seung-ro) is implementing a 'Low-Interest, Unsecured' social investment fund loan project to support the growth and independence of social economy organizations such as social enterprises and cooperatives, and to alleviate the financial burden of companies facing business difficulties due to COVID-19.

Considering that most social economy organizations are in the service sector and have difficulty providing physical collateral, making it hard to use existing financial institutions, Seongbuk-gu is providing social investment fund loans with low interest rates and no collateral to help social economy organizations in the district receive funding more easily and support smooth business operations.

The total loan scale of the Seongbuk-gu Social Investment Fund in 2022 is 400 million KRW, with a maximum loan amount of 40 million KRW per company. The loan period is up to 5 years, with an annual interest rate of 0.75%, the lowest nationwide among similar funds. Repayment conditions are based on equal principal and interest installments within 5 years without a grace period.

Eligible applicants are social economy organizations as defined in Article 2, Clause 5 of the "Social Economy Basic Ordinance for Realizing Social Value in Seoul Special City Seongbuk-gu," including social enterprises, cooperatives, village enterprises, and self-support enterprises located in Seongbuk-gu.

Applications can be submitted in person at the Resident Community Division on the 8th floor of Seongbuk-gu Office from January 20 to February 4. Detailed information is available on the Seongbuk-gu Office website.

A Seongbuk-gu official said, "We hope to support continuous growth and development by providing social investment funds as a public resource that is easy to use for local social economy organizations that cannot receive specialized financial support from existing financial institutions and the government due to high barriers."

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