Starting next month, the government will start additional vaccination (boost shot) for preventing COVID-19 for adults in their 50s, those with underlying medical conditions, and those who have received the Janssen vaccine.



In principle, the booster vaccination should be given 6 months after the primary vaccination, but immunocompromised persons at high risk of infection and those vaccinated with Janssen vaccines can start after 2 months.



The Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team announced today (28th) the 'November to December vaccination implementation plan'.



In consideration of the risk of infection, severe and death, and the possibility of breakthrough infection, the promotion group added those in their 50s, those with underlying diseases, Janssen vaccines, and occupational groups with priority vaccinations to the target of additional vaccinations.



Booster vaccination refers to receiving the vaccine as many times as recommended and then re-vaccinating the vaccine at a certain point in time to reinforce the prevention effect.



The authorities previously prioritized 3.69 million people, including those with weakened immunity, the elderly over 60, workers in hospitals and medical institutions above the level of hospitals for corona 19 treatment, and residents and workers in nursing homes, nursing facilities, and infection-prone facilities. Went.



There are more than 2.5 million new subjects who can receive booster vaccinations in November and December.



Those in their 50s had a higher fatality rate (0.31%) when infected with COVID-19 compared to other age groups (0.02 to 0.07% in their 20s and 40s), so they were included in the subject of additional vaccination.



Currently, 7.91 million people in their 50s have completed the vaccination, of which 320,000 have been vaccinated 6 months after the primary vaccination.



The rest will be vaccinated sequentially from next year.



People with underlying diseases are at high risk of serious illness and death when infected.




This time, endocrine, cardiovascular, chronic kidney, chronic respiratory, nervous system, and digestive diseases were selected as subjects for booster vaccination.



1.48 million Janssen vaccine recipients were subject to additional vaccination due to a high rate of so-called 'breakthrough infection', in which they were infected due to a lack of antibodies even after receiving the recommended number of vaccinations for each vaccine.



The number of breakthrough infections per 100,000 people vaccinated from April to October last year was 266.5 for Janssen, which was much higher than AstraZeneca (99.1), Pfizer (48.2), Moderna (4.6), and cross-inoculation (71.1). .



It was considered that the risk of infection and transmission is high for first responders to COVID-19, workers at clinic-level medical institutions and pharmacies, care workers, special education and childcare, public health teachers and nurses at daycare centers, and police, firefighters, and military personnel due to the nature of their work.



The target audience is 250,000.



If you look at the reservation/inoculation schedule, Janssen vaccine recipients make reservations through the vaccination advance reservation system (http://ncvr.kdca.go.kr) from 8 pm today, and start vaccinations from the 8th of next month.



Those in their 50s, those with underlying diseases, and the priority vaccination occupation group will make reservations from 8 pm on the 1st of the next month, and vaccinate from the 15th.



If you are using residual vaccines at medical institutions, you can receive additional vaccinations from the 1st of next month through reservations on Naver/Kakao social networking service (SNS), etc.



For booster doses, Pfizer or Moderna vaccines of the mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) family are basically used.



(Photo=Corona 19 Vaccination Response Team, Yonhap News)