Seoul to expand support to treat Covid-19 jabs’ adverse events

Korea's daily new Covid-19 tally rose back above 500 on Tuesday, with health authorities expressing concerns about the possibility of a spike in infections.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA) confirmed 511 new patients, including 483 local infections, raising the cumulative caseload to 128,283 as of midnight Monday. Imported infections remained almost the same at 28.

Four more people died of the Covid-19, pushing the death toll to 1,879 with a fatality rate of 1.46 percent. The number of fully recovered people in the country increased to 118,717, with 873 newly recovered patients. The government has tested 9,164,284 people since Jan. 3 last year.

Daily infections showed few signs of a letdown in the past week as the number of private gatherings increased amid the warmer weather. Increases in variant cases also put health authorities on alert as the mutant cases originating in the southeastern city of Ulsan spread to cities and countries in South Gyeongsang Province, the KDCA said.

"Authorities have been tracing infection routes. As a result, infections caused by contact with confirmed patients such as family, acquaintances, and work colleagues account for almost half recently," Health and Welfare Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said. "We have also confirmed 1,400 confirmed cases related to the variant cases in 60 cluster infections nationwide."

If the nation lowers its guard, it may again lead to a massive outbreak, he added.

Kwon stressed that the next 50 days are essential to defeating the momentum of the Covid-19 virus spread completely.

"When we complete the vaccination for the elderly by the end of June, a more relaxed quarantine response will be possible," he said.

The country has vaccinated 3,692,566 people -- 2,025,401 with the AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,667,165 with Pfizer's vaccine -- with the first Covid-19 shot up 8,341 from the previous day. The figure accounts for 7.2 percent of the country's population.

Health officials aim to vaccinate 12 million people by the end of June and 70 percent of the population by September to reach herd immunity in November. However, President Moon Jae-in had vowed to advance the attainment of herd immunity in his special address to mark the fourth anniversary in office on Monday.

Health authorities did not release the updated adverse cases and deaths after vaccination in its daily morning briefing.

Meanwhile, to ramp up the inoculation and subdue public concerns, health authorities have promised to provide full support for the possible side effects tied to vaccination.

The KCDA plans to provide a maximum 10 million won ($8,933) payout for those who require hospitalization after receiving the vaccines, even if there are no proven causal links between the deaths and the Covid-19 jabs next week.

The government has covered costs for hospital stays and other treatment methods only to patients that have proved a causal link between a Covid-19 vaccine injection and side effects until now.

However, health authorities stressed that the expanded medical expense coverage will only be a temporary measure and exclude cases caused by other underlying diseases.

"An independent panel will review all applications and provide medical expenses for those who were previously excluded from the medical expense assistance program," the KCDA said.

As of Monday, authorities have made deliberations on 156 cases – 79 deaths and 77 severe cases --- and have concluded that only two severe cases had causal relations with the Covid-19 vaccine injections.

Of the remaining 154 cases, authorities have concluded that there were no direct links between the shots and side effects for 150 cases and are still conducting an epidemiological survey for the remaining four cases.

"Through this system, we will strengthen support for patients with severe adverse reactions who are not included in the scope of compensation due to lack of causal evidence, so that the public can receive vaccinations with confidence," said an official at the Covid-19 Vaccination Response Team.