Expected to be around 7,000 people... Half of the elderly with severe cases 'breakthrough infection'

<Anchor>

Today (18th), the number of new confirmed cases is expected to be around 7,000, and more than half of the elderly over 60 years of age with severe severe cases are breakthrough infections that have completed the second vaccination. Quarantine authorities are encouraging the third vaccination, but they said that the whole elderly will receive a booster shot within this month.

Reporter Park Soo-jin.

<Reporter> This

is a temporary screening test center in the square in front of Seoul City Hall.

[Seongyun Kim, Soyun Kim, Mijin Yu/family inspector: Is this the sixth (prosecutor)? (Seventh, seventh.) I waited for about 40 minutes, but I think it was done a little earlier. Another

person

said it took 3 hours and 4 hours.] As

people flocked to each testing station, the quarantine authorities decided to increase the number of temporary screening testing stations by 34, and to extend the operating hours until 9 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on weekends. I did.

As the infection spreads rapidly, the average daily number of confirmed cases has increased nearly four times compared to two months ago.

Three months after the completion of the vaccination, the number of breakthrough infections is also increasing as the number of people with weakened immunity increases.

This is especially noticeable in the elderly over the age of 60, who first started getting vaccinated.

In the past two weeks, more than 54% of severe cases and 47% of deaths over 60 years of age were breakthrough infections.

The need for booster vaccinations for the elderly who have completed the primary vaccination has increased.

[Jeong Eun-kyung / Director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The effect of preventing infection, seriousness, and death is clear when the third dose is administered.

It has been confirmed that those who have completed the 3rd inoculation have an 11-fold increase in the prevention of infection and 20-fold increase in the effectiveness of severe prevention compared to those who have received the 2nd dose.] The number of people who have received the 3rd dose

has exceeded 10 million.

About half of those over the age of 60 received a booster dose.

The quarantine authorities said they would complete the third vaccination for the entire elderly population within this month.