GOVT'S 4TH VACCINATION PLAN

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The government announced the fourth vaccination plan for high-risk groups as group infections are on the rise in convalescent hospitals. Individuals with weak immunity can get their fourth doses since yesterday while those in convalescent hospitals become eligible for fourth doses in March. Disease control authorities said that they are not looking into a fourth round of vaccination for the general population.

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The number of group infections at convalescent hospitals and nursing facilities spiked from 11 cases in the first week of January to 48 in just one month. The number of infected patients rose more than five times, from around 280 individuals to roughly 1,540. Authorities believe that the surge was attributable to the spread of the omicron variant and the diminishing effect of the third doses administered since last October. A study on the vaccines’ COVID-19 neutralizing effect on the 60 or older in-patients of convalescent hospitals showed that neutralizing antibodies increased up to nine to ten weeks following the third dose but began to decline after 12 weeks. Based on such analysis, the government decided to administer fourth doses to boost the vaccines’ preventive effect and deter high-risk, infected people from growing critically ill. Those eligible for the fourth dose include some 1.3 million adults with weakened immune systems who have received their third dose as well as roughly 500,000 in-patients and employees at convalescent hospitals and nursing facilities. Individuals with weak immunity refer to those who are being treated for cancer or taking immunosuppressants. They must confirm with their doctors first before receiving leftover vaccines. Nursing facility residents who got their third dose more than four months ago are also eligible to receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines starting in the first week of March. They can be vaccinated immediately when urgent disease control measures are called for. The general population has been excluded from the fourth round of vaccination.

[Soundbite] Jeong Eun-kyeong(KDCA Director) : "The main objective of 4th vaccination is to prevent high-risk individuals from turning into critical cases or dying. We haven’t made any decisions about administering fourth doses to the groups that are not at high risk of growing seriously ill or dying."

In order to stop the spread of COVID-19 among the elderly, senior centers have closed and in-person programs at senior welfare centers have all been suspended.