"Want to Go to Hawaii After Getting Vaccinated" ... First Day of COVID Vaccination for Ages 5-11

Vaccination with Pfizer for Children Begins at Over 1,200 Contracted Medical Institutions
Vaccination After Confirming Underlying Conditions... Monitoring for Adverse Reactions for 15 Minutes

On the 31st, a child is receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescents at Mizmedi Hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, where vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 began. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] "I stayed in the United States the year before last, and since all the children my kids' age got vaccinated there, I have no fear of the vaccine."

On the 31st, at Mizmedi Hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Hanboram Lee (40) visited the hospital with her two sons, Lee Gyeol (11), born in 2010 but not yet had his birthday, and Lee Yul (10), born in 2011, to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Lee said, "My children have no underlying health conditions," adding, "Since we decided early on to get vaccinated, I made a reservation from the first day of vaccination to get it done as soon as possible."

From this day, COVID-19 pediatric Pfizer vaccine administration for children aged 5 to 11 began at about 1,200 designated pediatric vaccination entrusted medical institutions nationwide. It has been about a month since the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety judged this vaccine to be safe and approved its use domestically on the 23rd of last month.

The eligible population for vaccination ranges from children born in 2010 who have not yet had their birthday to those born in 2017 who have had their birthday, totaling 3,147,942 children. While vaccination is recommended for high-risk children such as immunocompromised individuals, healthy children can choose whether to get vaccinated voluntarily.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Lee submitted a health questionnaire checking her children's health status. Then, a nurse measured the two children's temperature, weight, and height before moving to the consultation room for a pre-vaccination doctor consultation. Dr. Kim Min-gyun, head of the Pediatrics Department at Mizmedi Hospital, asked both the children and Lee about any underlying conditions and checked their breathing by saying, "Please breathe." When Lee mentioned, "My child is undergoing medication treatment for a cat hair allergy," the doctor advised, "Please stay at the hospital for about 15 to 30 minutes after vaccination to monitor for any shock."

The two children sat side by side in a separate consultation room with somewhat nervous expressions, waiting for their turn to be vaccinated. When a child's name was called and he entered the consultation room, the nurse confirmed the date of birth and explained the type of vaccine and the action guidelines in case of adverse reactions. The children who finished vaccination one by one smiled and said, "It doesn't hurt."

Lee Gyeol said, "It doesn't hurt and it's okay," but added, "I was a little worried before getting vaccinated because I saw my dad's arm swell after his vaccine." His younger brother Lee Yul said, "It was similar to getting a flu shot and didn't hurt much." Both children said in unison, "Dad said if we get vaccinated, we can go to Hawaii," and "We might be able to go on a trip this summer."

Dr. Kim emphasized, "We are thoroughly checking and managing vaccine temperature, expiration date, and the vaccination process to ensure safe pediatric vaccination." He added, "Some people excessively worry about vaccine side effects due to misinformation or fear," advising, "Do not rely solely on online information about vaccination; be sure to consult medical staff or pediatric specialists."

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