Health Authorities "Considering 4th Dose Focused on Immunocompromised and Elderly"

US FDA Approves Second Dose of Pfizer and Moderna for Ages 50 and Over

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The quarantine authorities announced that they are considering a 4th dose of vaccination for immunocompromised individuals and the elderly.

On the afternoon of the 30th, Kwon Geun-yong, head of the Vaccination Management Team at the COVID-19 Vaccination Promotion Task Force, said during a back briefing regarding the 4th dose, "Recently, the number of countries implementing the 4th dose is increasing, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the 4th dose for elderly people aged 50 and over and immunocompromised individuals. Considering the overall foreign vaccination trends, we are reviewing whether to administer the 4th dose to immunocompromised and elderly people domestically."

He added, "Together with relevant experts, we plan to comprehensively consider the necessity, current epidemic situation, and overseas trends to determine whether the 4th dose is needed in Korea."

Earlier, the U.S. FDA approved plans for a second booster shot (4th dose) of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people aged 50 and over and immunocompromised general population. The target group includes those aged 50 and above who received their first booster shot more than four months ago, and certain immunocompromised individuals aged 12 and 18 and over who received their first booster shot more than four months ago.

Team leader Kwon said, "Even if it is decided to administer the 4th dose, there is no country administering the 4th dose to those under 50," adding, "Most countries are administering the 4th dose to elderly people aged 60 to 70 and above, so when reviewing domestically, it is necessary to focus on the elderly, and we plan to review this through expert consultation."

He explained, "The U.S. decision is meaningful as important information for the current domestic review of the 4th dose," and "As the BA.2 variant has recently become dominant, we are comprehensively reviewing with experts the impact of this on the epidemic situation and how much benefit the 4th dose would provide to the elderly, who have a relatively high risk of severe illness and death, in this epidemic situation."

Currently, Korea is administering the 4th dose to high-risk groups such as immunocompromised individuals and those residing in nursing hospitals, nursing facilities, and mental health promotion facilities. As of the day before yesterday, a cumulative total of 263,851 people have participated.

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