South Korea Starts Covid-19 Vaccination Today, There Is No 'Title' First Vaccine Recipient

Vaccine illustration. (Sam Moqadam / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The South Korean government will initiate the COVID-19 vaccination program, one of the largest mass immunization programs in the history of the State of Gingseng, on Friday, February 26.

The first injection will be carried out at 9 am local time. This initial vaccination target is for patients and healthcare workers under the age of 65 in nursing homes, or who are in public health centers across the country with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

There is heated debate over who will be the first to be vaccinated, but the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) did not specify the first individual, as COVID-19 vaccination will begin concurrently across the region. This is different from other countries.

While there will not be a 'title' recipient of the first vaccine in South Korea, there will be a 'first person' in every region. In Daegu, a couple of doctors in their 60s working in a care facility will be the first to roll up their sleeves, and nurses in their 50s at a nursing home will be the first to be vaccinated in Busan, according to their respective local governments. .

The three are among the 289,000 nursing home workers and patients who will be inoculated with the first dose, while the second dose will be given at the end of March.

A total of 1.57 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, enough for 780,000 people, are produced by SK Bioscience at a local factory in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, under a manufacturing partnership contract with a pharmaceutical company.

The government began distributing the vaccine, which has been temporarily stored in a cold chain logistics warehouse in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, to some 1,900 nursing homes, medical centers and similar facilities across the country on Thursday in a four-day operation.

"The first convoy of one-ton trucks carrying vaccines from the warehouse took to the streets at around 5.30am, escorted by police and military vehicles. Ships will be used to deliver them to remote areas such as Jeju Island and Ulleung, and planes can also be mobilized depending on the weather," he said. health authorities launch Koreatimes.

In addition, the first batch of Pfizer vaccines, which are scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport yesterday afternoon, will be provided to 58,000 health workers in 143 medical facilities treating COVID-19 patients starting Saturday.

The other groups, divided by priority, will be given vaccines according to the schedule set by KDCA.

Those who will receive the vaccine in the second quarter include seniors aged 65 or over, health workers at medical institutions, caregivers and patients in nursing homes for the disabled; and people in homeless shelters.

In the third quarter, vaccination will largely expand to citizens between the ages of 18 and 64, including those with chronic illnesses, as well as social service workers, members of the military, police, and workers in educational institutions. Residents who have not received the injections by September will be offered vaccinations during the fourth quarter.

Through a mass vaccination program, Korea aims to immunize 70 percent of the population, or up to 36 million people by September, to create herd immunity by November.

Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities have pledged to suppress fake news about vaccines rapidly spreading online ahead of vaccinations, as unsubstantiated misinformation could lead to public fear of safety and efficacy.

The fake news includes misleading claims that the vaccine contains aborted fetal cells, or that the injection will cause dementia or genetic modification.