South Korea Boosts Booster Vaccines As Coronavirus Spread Worsens

South Korea has focused on protecting the elderly and vulnerable people in the face of the record of serious cases of coronavirus reported in recent days, at a time when the country has 78.4% vaccinated and has just redrawn its strategy to live with the virus.

People over 60, those with immunosuppression and other “vulnerable” groups are currently in the crosshairs of the health authorities, South Korean Deputy Minister of Health Yoo Geun-hyuk said today at a press conference in Seoul .

The reason is the increase in outbreaks detected in recent days in residences, the increase in the number of infections in people over 60 years of age and the number of serious cases of covid-19, which today reached a new record in the country: 522.

South Korea It has been one of the countries that has best responded to the pandemic (Since the beginning, it has only a total of just over 400,000 infections and 3,158 deaths), but the slight delay in starting its vaccination campaign, worsened by the lack of vaccine supply, has meant that the country has not dropped 1,000 new cases a day since July.

After a year and a half of impeccable management, this sustained level of infections is now also compounded by the threat that hangs over those over 60.

This group accounts for 82% of the serious cases and 97% of the deaths that the country has been scoring in recent times, the rate of which has accelerated to the highest since the pandemic began (in the last week, the average is 20 deaths per day).

Although in the Asian country almost 80% of the population already has the complete pattern, in the first week of November 56% of all new infections occurred among fully vaccinated people.

This, according to the director of the National Institute of Health (NIH), Kwon Jun-wook, may respond to the fact that the effect of vaccines is “weakening”, especially in the elderly, who were among the first group to receive them during the first months of this year.

SHORTTER TIMES FOR REINFORCEMENT DOSE

To address the situation, the Korea Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA) announced that from today people over 60 will be able to receive the booster shot for four months (instead of six, as before. ) after their last dose and that those over 50 will be able to receive it after five months.

The current increase in daily cases –South Korea reported 3,178 today, the second highest number since the pandemic began.– “It is something we expected after activating the first level of relaxation of restrictions”, said Kwon, ensuring that “the spread of the virus is limited” right now mainly to senior centers.

Since last November 1, bars and restaurants should no longer close at 10 p.m. and the number of people who can meet is now a maximum of 10, and not six as until recently, although the mask is still mandatory both indoors and outdoors.

“Now we face a challenge that is common to many countries”, Kwon said regarding the need to live with the pandemic and in turn underlining how Northern Europe or the US are having problems “to return to normality with low levels of vaccination.”

CONFIDENCE IN THE NEW PREVENTION PLAN

In this sense, the South Korean authorities trust that the high level of vaccinated in the country and the new anticovid strategy will avoid, at least for the moment, having to restore restrictions, as is happening in several European countries.

Among the measures included in the new prevention plan is to increase the hospitalization at home of those with mild cases (an option that until now was only allowed to 1-2% of patients) and the use of a vaccination passport for facilities considered risky as bars, karaoke bars, discos, gyms or saunas, according to the spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Son Young-rae.

In total, detailed Son, it is estimated that the passport will be required in 15% of the closed facilities in the country.

“We are going to look less at the daily figures and focus much more on deaths and the number of serious cases. We want to focus more on social damage “, said the spokesman, when shelling out the new response plan.

Vice Minister Yoo explained that 18 indicators have been included in this plan to assess the situation and the possible application or relaxation of restrictions.

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