From the 14th, Novavax Vaccination for High-Risk Groups... General Public Can Also Reserve Remaining Vaccines

10,000 Initial Vaccine Recipients Monitored Daily for 7 Days
Pre-Booking Starts on the 21st... Vaccinations Available from March 7
Cross-Vaccination and Third Dose Require Doctor's Judgment

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Starting from the 14th, Novavax vaccine administration will begin for unvaccinated adults aged 18 and over and high-risk groups with a high risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. The Novavax vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccine developed using a recombinant gene technology method, similar to hepatitis B or influenza vaccines. Because of this, the government expects an increase in vaccinations among those who had not been vaccinated due to adverse reactions to Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

According to the quarantine authorities on the 13th, starting tomorrow (the 14th), Novavax vaccine administration will be conducted through in-hospital and facility-based self-vaccination and visit vaccinations targeting high-risk groups such as hospitalized patients with a high risk of severe illness or death, homebound elderly, and severely disabled individuals.

Among the general public, adults aged 18 and over who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine can also receive same-day vaccinations at public health centers and designated medical institutions nationwide by reserving leftover vaccines or using medical institution standby lists via KakaoTalk or Naver starting on the same day.

Advance reservations will be available from the 21st through the vaccine pre-registration website. Vaccination dates can be selected from March 7 onward.

Im Suk-young, Situation General Manager of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), said, "To detect adverse reactions early after Novavax vaccination, we will conduct adverse reaction monitoring through text message notifications," adding, "Especially for the initial 10,000 vaccinees, we will send daily text messages for seven days from the vaccination date to monitor their health status."

Third Dose and Heterologous Vaccination Require Doctor’s Judgment

Novavax vaccine will also be used for the third dose. The basic principle is that if the primary series (first and second doses) was administered with Novavax vaccine, the third dose should also be Novavax. Both advance reservations and same-day vaccinations are possible, with the interval being at least three months after the second dose.

However, if a person who received the primary series with Novavax wishes to receive the third dose with an mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine, vaccination is allowed even without special reasons. In this case, only same-day vaccination is available, and advance reservations are not possible.

Those who completed the primary series with AstraZeneca (AZ), Pfizer, Moderna, or Janssen vaccines but have contraindications or deferrals for other vaccines can also receive the third dose with Novavax vaccine. In such cases, a doctor’s judgment is required. Eligible individuals can register on the medical institution’s standby list and receive vaccination after same-day reservation.

Kwon Geun-yong, Vaccination Management Team Leader of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, explained, "If serious adverse reactions such as anaphylaxis, thrombocytopenic thrombosis, or capillary leak syndrome occurred after the first or second dose with vaccines other than Novavax, vaccination with the same vaccine is contraindicated," adding, "Even if vaccination was deferred due to myocarditis or pericarditis, the third dose can be administered with Novavax vaccine based on the examining physician’s opinion."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Novavax Vaccine: 90% Infection Prevention, 100% Prevention of Severe Illness and Death

Novavax vaccine is the fifth COVID-19 vaccine approved in South Korea, following AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Janssen, and Moderna. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine developed using recombinant gene technology, similar to hepatitis B or influenza vaccines.

According to phase 3 clinical trials conducted in the UK and the US, those who completed the second dose showed approximately 90% effectiveness in preventing infection. The prevention effect against severe illness and death reached 100%. Most adverse reactions after vaccination were mild to moderate and disappeared within 1 to 3 days, with serious adverse reactions occurring at a rate below 1%, similar to the placebo group.

Regarding effectiveness against the Omicron variant, Team Leader Kwon explained, "According to immunogenicity analysis after the third dose, antibody levels increased approximately 74-fold 28 days after vaccination compared to before vaccination."

However, completely preventing infection itself is expected to be difficult. Park Young-jun, Epidemiological Investigation Team Leader at the CDCH, said, "There is no treatment or vaccine with 100% effectiveness," adding, "It is necessary to continuously monitor how effective it is and how it changes over time."

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