Seongnam City Achieves 41% Vaccination Rate Two Months After Launching Free Flu Shots for All Citizens

Impact of Widespread Influenza Outbreak...
"Get Vaccinated as Soon as Possible"

Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor: Shin Sangjin) announced on November 20 that, just over two months after launching its free flu vaccination program for all citizens, the vaccination rate has reached 41%.

Seongnam City Hall exterior. Provided by Seongnam City

From September 22 to November 16, a total of 369,564 citizens-41% of Seongnam's population of 908,464-received the flu vaccine, according to the city’s data.

This represents a 5 percentage point increase compared to the same period last year (September 20 to November 14, 2024), when the vaccination rate was 36%.

By eligible group, the highest vaccination rate was among seniors aged 65 and older, reaching 74% (123,560 people).

This was followed by 57% (49,461 people) for children aged 6 months to 13 years, 54% (2,560 people) for pregnant women, and 25% (163,894 people) for those aged 14 to 64.

It is notable that groups with relatively weaker immunity, such as the elderly and children, showed high vaccination rates, and that the vaccination rate for those aged 14 to 64 increased by 4.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

The city analyzed that the recent nationwide flu (influenza) outbreak, combined with the effectiveness of the free vaccination program, has resulted in a high vaccination rate within a short period.

According to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, during the first week of this month (November 2-8), the number of suspected flu cases per 1,000 outpatients was 50.7, a 2.2-fold increase from the previous week (October 26-November 1), which recorded 22.8 cases, indicating a rapid spread.

The flu season has also started about two months earlier than usual, prompting the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to issue a flu epidemic advisory on October 17.

The city explained that the predominant flu virus currently circulating is type A (H3N2), and that even if infection occurs after vaccination, symptoms are likely to be mild.

The city added that from the start of the free flu vaccination program for all citizens in October 2023 through April 30 of last year, the vaccination rate reached 50% (a 13 percentage point increase from the previous year), while the incidence rate remained at 7.5%.

This figure is lower than the national average flu incidence rate at the time (8.0%), as well as those of Gyeonggi Province (8.5%), nearby Suwon City (8.8%), and Yongin City (9.2%).

Seongnam City emphasized that, for effective flu prevention, citizens should get vaccinated as soon as possible, considering that it takes about two weeks for immunity to develop.

To receive a free flu vaccination, residents should bring identification, a resident registration certificate (for minors), and a maternity handbook or pregnancy confirmation (for pregnant women) to one of the 549 designated hospitals or clinics.

The list of designated hospitals and clinics can be found on the Seongnam City Public Health Center website. The free flu vaccination program runs until April 30 of next year.

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