Starting Tomorrow, BA4/5-Based 'Bivalent Vaccine' Inoculation... "Choice Among 3 Options Available"

Moderna and Pfizer BA.1-Based Vaccines Also Available
Health Authorities Urge Vaccination for High-Risk Groups Aged 60 and Over

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] Starting from the 14th, Pfizer's bivalent vaccine (updated vaccine) targeting the Omicron subvariants BA.4/5 will be administered. Accordingly, for the winter COVID-19 vaccinations, all three types of bivalent vaccines currently available worldwide that target the Omicron variants will be utilized.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Promotion Team (Promotion Team) on the 13th, approximately 1.19 million doses of Pfizer's BA.4/5-based updated vaccine, which were first imported through Incheon International Airport on the 3rd, will be available for both reservations and same-day vaccinations starting on the 14th.

Those who made advance reservations on the 27th of last month have been able to receive Moderna or Pfizer vaccines based on BA.1 since the 7th, so from the 14th, individuals can choose one of three vaccines: Moderna BA.1-based vaccine, Pfizer BA.1-based vaccine, or Pfizer BA.4/5-based vaccine.

In particular, from this day forward, the target group for additional winter vaccinations will expand from seniors aged 60 and over who have completed the primary series (1st and 2nd doses) to adults aged 18 and over. Considering the recommended vaccination interval (120 days after the last vaccination or infection), anyone vaccinated or infected before July will be included in the eligible group.

The Promotion Team recommends the updated vaccines over the original Wuhan strain-based vaccines, and among the three updated vaccines, no priority order is set. If one cannot or does not want to receive the messenger RNA (mRNA) updated vaccines, vaccination is also possible with recombinant vaccines such as Novavax or Skycovione.

The health authorities urged that only high-risk groups aged 60 and above should participate in the winter vaccination. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), in the first week of November, 86.8% of severe COVID-19 cases were among those aged 60 and over, 95.1% of deaths were in this age group, and 21.3% of deaths occurred in nursing hospitals.

However, as of the 10th, the vaccination rate for those aged 60 and above was only 10.5% of the eligible population, and for infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals and nursing homes, it remained at 7.7%. Park Min-su, the 1st Chief Coordinator of the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, emphasized at the CDCH meeting on the 11th, “As the resurgence is becoming full-scale, preparation is necessary. Elderly people vulnerable to infection and those with underlying conditions must get vaccinated.”

The health authorities plan to increase vaccination rates among workers and residents of infection-vulnerable facilities and the elderly in cooperation with related ministries and local governments. First, even without advance reservations through the website or same-day reservations via Naver or Kakao, on-site vaccination will be supported if the desired vaccine is available at medical institutions, requiring only an ID card. Specific dates for on-site vaccination will be announced soon.

Additionally, vaccination plans will be established and implemented for each infection-vulnerable facility, and rapid vaccination will be promoted through active operation of public health center visiting vaccination teams. Promotion will also be strengthened with cooperation from local medical associations and senior organizations.

Meanwhile, according to the CDCH, active monitoring of about 10,000 Moderna updated vaccine recipients showed that commonly reported symptoms were injection site pain, muscle pain, and fever, with an adverse event reporting rate of 0.03%, which is lower than that of existing vaccines. The CDCH stated, “So far, a total of 479,712 adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines have been reported, accounting for 0.37% of all vaccinations.”

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