VACCINATION ROLLOUT AND TRAVEL

[Anchor Lead]

Now people who have been fully vaccinated are allowed to travel in groups to selected countries. However, family trips are nearly impossible since little children are not eligible for vaccination. When will young children and teenagers be able to get their shots so that an entire family can travel overseas? We take a look.

[Pkg]

To Kwon Na-ri, a mother of a five-year-old child, overseas travel without quarantine is still only a dream.

[Soundbite] Kwon Na-ri(Seoul Resident) : "It’s frustrating to be banned from traveling overseas. Since my son and I haven’t been vaccinated yet, overseas travel seems impossible."

Even the travel industry, one of the beneficiaries of the relaxed travel restrictions, forecasts that it would take more time for the actual travel demand to increase.

[Soundbite] Kim Ki-hyeon(Travel Agency Overseas Business Manager) : "Only the elderly in their 60s and 70s are allowed to travel abroad but the destinations they favor are limited. We’re consistently checking each of the places they can travel to."

Family trips are nearly impossible since COVID-19 vaccinations so far have been administered largely to the elderly population over the age of 60. Also, teenagers older than 16, who are allowed to receive only Pfizer vaccines, have been pushed to the back of the inoculation schedule. Health authorities plan to complete the administration of Pfizer vaccines only for high school seniors in urgent need of immunity by the end of summer vacation in August. No vaccination schedule has been released for the 1st and 2nd year high school students. Different age groups will start getting their shots next month, beginning with those in their 50s. So, the younger high school students will likely be vaccinated toward the end of the third quarter at the earliest.

[Soundbite] Jung Eun-kyeong(KDCA Director) : "We will examine the risks and benefits of vaccinating minors as well as public and expert opinions before setting up a plan."

The U.S. has allowed only Pfizer vaccines to be administered to the 12-or-older population. Other vaccines have not been approved for children younger than 18. This means if Korean adolescents are to be vaccinated, more Pfizer vaccine supplies need to be imported and more time is needed to accumulate relevant vaccination data from overseas.