Nine people in South Korea died after being vaccinated against influenza. Korean Disease Management Agency: The cause of death has not been determined to be directly related to the vaccination
[Global Times reporter Liu Yuan Jin Hye-jin] The South Korean government started vaccinating influenza this year, but unexpectedly there was a big problem.
As of the 21st, a total of 9 people died after being vaccinated.
However, South Korea’s health department said on the 21st that it will not stop influenza vaccination.
According to Korean media analysis, whether the causes of death of these 9 people are directly related to influenza vaccination is currently inconclusive.
In addition, the government wanted to prevent the risk of simultaneous spread of the new crown pneumonia and influenza virus in Korean society, so it decided to "continue vaccination".
According to a report by the “Dong-A Ilbo” on the 21st, the Korean Disease Management Agency held an emergency press conference on the afternoon of the 21st to report on influenza vaccination and abnormal reactions.
According to reports, since the first case of death after flu vaccination on the 16th of this month, as of the afternoon of the 21st, a total of 9 people died after flu vaccination.
Of the 9 dead, most of them were elderly except for a 17-year-old.
In order to find out the cause of death, the South Korean government decided to conduct an autopsy on 8 of them and conduct a medical record follow-up investigation.
The Korean Agency for Disease Control said that whether the cause of death of the nine people mentioned above is directly related to influenza vaccination has not yet been determined.
It is reported that the Korean Agency for Disease Control held a meeting of the "Influenza Vaccination Work Investigation Team" on the morning of the 21st to conduct cause-of-death analysis and other discussions on the 6 deaths reported at that time, but whether it was the vaccine product, medical institution or specific underlying disease In other respects, these six people have nothing in common, and no direct causal relationship between the cause of death and the flu vaccine has been found.
Therefore, the preliminary conclusion reached by the investigation team is that there is no systemic problem in influenza vaccination work, and related work can continue.
On the afternoon of the 21st, Director Zheng Eunqing of the Korean Disease Management Agency also stated at a press conference that he would not stop influenza vaccination.
She also repeatedly emphasized: "The elderly, patients with underlying diseases, children, pregnant women and other high-risk groups of influenza viruses must be vaccinated against influenza."
Yonhap News Agency analyzed that although there have been nine deaths, there are two reasons why South Korea’s health authorities continue to carry out influenza vaccination.
One is that it has not been determined that the causes of death of these 9 people are directly related to the flu vaccination.
Second, as the new crown pneumonia epidemic continues, the government must prevent the risk of simultaneous spread of the new crown pneumonia and influenza virus in South Korea.
As of the 20th, the Korean Disease Management Agency has collected a total of 431 reports of abnormal reactions (including deaths) after influenza vaccination. According to statistics, after the annual influenza vaccination work in South Korea, case reports with abnormal reactions will be collected. From 2017 to 2019, there were 108 cases, 132 cases and 177 cases respectively. Among them, only 2 deaths are reported every year.