4TH DOSE SHOTS BEGIN FOR 50S

[Anchor Lead]

Korea reported 44,689 new cases and nearly 300 critically ill patients as of midnight on Monday. Meanwhile, individuals 50 or older can start getting their fourth vaccine dose today. Also, the patients being treated at home will no longer be divided into high-risk and general groups starting today.

[Pkg]

Individuals 50 or older who reserved their fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines started getting their shots on Monday. So far, 37.4 % of people 60 or older and merely 4.4% of those in their fifties have received their fourth vaccine shots. Authorities recommended booster vaccination, claiming that vaccines contributed to a declining fatality rate.

[Soundbite] Peck Kyong-ran(KDCA Director (July 29)) : "Fourth or third doses of vaccination have a 50% to 70% additional effect on preventing deterioration and death."

Authorities' prioritize minimizing the number of critical cases and deaths. But as of 12 am Monday, the number of critically ill patients doubled from a week ago to stand at 287. Authorities terminated a system that oversaw high-risk 60-or-older patients who were recovering at home by checking up on them on the phone once a day. There is concern that high-risk groups wouldn't be able to receive proper treatment on time if they have to visit pulmonary disease clinics or one-stop diagnosis centers to get in-person treatment and prescriptions.

[Soundbite] Prof. Lee Hyuk-min(Severance Hospital) : "There were many cases where they were fine one day and then suddenly passed out the next only to discover that they suffered from serious COVID-related pneumonia and to die quickly. They needed to be checked to see if they took medication properly."

The government says that in-person treatment aims to determine a patient's condition accurately. Authorities announced the number of one-stop diagnosis centers that provide COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment services will be increased from the current 8,800 locations to 10,000.