<Anchor> Since a large
number of patients with severe cases of severe disease are given the vaccine relatively early and are not effective in preventing it, the government is rushing to give the elderly a booster vaccination. The booster vaccination for those in their 50s started yesterday (15th), and plans to shorten the booster vaccination interval by more than a month are also being considered. Specific details will be announced the day after tomorrow.
Reporter Park Soo-jin.
<Reporter> The
number of people in their 50s who are eligible for booster vaccination is 7.91 million.
Among them, the target of vaccination by the end of this year is classified as a priority target and 320,000 people have been vaccinated first.
Most people in their 50s have been vaccinated since last August, so they won't receive a booster vaccine until the first half of next year.
Considering the recent surge in the number of confirmed cases, the government is reviewing measures to advance the booster vaccination interval by more than a month, just like those employed in nursing homes and facilities.
[Gwondeokcheol / Secretary of Health and Human Services: Other foreign (the booster intervals), there is six months or five months, governments in the that also shortened a little period of time in order to prevent breakthrough infections and a review now]
government on vaccination The reason we are slowing down is because the number of breakthrough infections among the elderly who have lost the effectiveness of the vaccine is rapidly increasing.
A study in Korea showed that if there were 10,000 confirmed cases per day, there would be nearly three times more breakthrough infections than unvaccinated cases.
This is because the number of people who have completed the vaccination is 80% of the total population, which is four times that of those who have not been vaccinated.
The problem is that the majority of the breakthrough infections are elderly people who were vaccinated first, so they are more likely to get worse.
[Professor Jeong Ki-seok / Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital: Especially if you are over 60, if you wait 6 months, it will pass until next year.
Then, at the most dangerous time this winter, you may have to receive the next booster vaccination with little to no preventive effect.]
Currently, booster vaccinations are in progress for the elderly aged 60 and over, but the number of elderly people aged 60 to 74 that will be available only next year is expected to reach 8 million people. month.