Starting from the third quarter, a 'cross-inoculation' will also be implemented for the first time, in which a person who received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine receives a second dose of Pfizer vaccine.



At a briefing on the 17th, the Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team announced the policy to allow cross-vaccination for those who are expected to receive the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.



This is also a measure in response to a temporary imbalance in the supply and demand of AstraZeneca vaccines.



Specifically, cross-vaccination targets are approximately 760,000 people, including visiting care workers over the age of 30, health care workers at clinic-level medical institutions and pharmacies, chronic kidney disease patients, and essential social workers including police, firefighters, and coast guards.



Since mid-April, they received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at about 2,000 consigned medical institutions for early vaccination, and the second dose was scheduled after July 5.



The cross-vaccination period is 11 to 12 weeks after the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine.



Vaccines will receive the Pfizer vaccine at the immunization institution on a pre-determined date without changing their appointment.



However, those who do not want to be cross-vaccinated can receive the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at the institution on the scheduled date from the 19th of the following month.



Among those who received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, those who were hospitalized, inpatients and workers in nursing homes and nursing facilities, workers at hospitals or higher medical institutions, and those who visited public health centers will receive the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine without any adjustment.



In Korea, cross-vaccination, in which a second dose of another vaccine is administered after the first dose of AstraZeneca, will be administered for the first time next month, but cross-vaccination is already being implemented in other countries such as Canada, Germany, and France.



The Special Immunization Committee also took this into consideration and concluded that the primary and secondary vaccinations should be performed in principle, but cross-inoculation may be performed according to the interval between the primary vaccines if necessary.



(Photo = Yonhap News)