Korea to vaccinate teens, pregnant women in Q4

The government plans to vaccinate children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 and pregnant women, excluded from the local Covid-19 inoculation program until now, in the fourth quarter.

At a regular briefing on Monday, the Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team said that the government's vaccination committee deliberated whether to vaccinate pregnant women and 12-17-year-olds and recommended vaccinating such groups last Wednesday.

In deciding to inoculate children and adolescents, the committee noted that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's recent approval, which extended the target age of Pfizer's vaccine to 12 years or older, has proved the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. "The World Health Organization and some countries, such as the U.S. and Japan, also confirmed the effectiveness and safety after vaccinating teens," it said.

The panel also pointed out that pregnant women belong to a high-risk group for Covid-19 infection, and vaccination for pregnant women is recommended as there have been no problems with vaccination safety so far. "WHO and countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., also recommend vaccination for pregnant women," it said.

Adolescents and women will also receive the booster shot, which prevents breakthrough infections, six months after completing the primary vaccination.

"The decision reflects that the effectiveness of vaccines may weaken after some time, and rising concerns over breakthrough infections and the Delta variant," Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said. “The government plans to carry out the primary vaccination for children, adolescents, and pregnant women in the fourth quarter after completing the first vaccination for 18-49-year-olds by September," the committee said.

However, quarantine officials struggled to stabilize the supply of vaccines, discussing with Moderna to confirm the supply of six million doses planned for introduction this week.

Ministry of Health and Welfare Spokesperson Son Young-rae said that the detailed supply schedule for Moderna's vaccine was not confirmed in writing. "We are still negotiating with Moderna," Son said. "We will not disclose supply date and quantity in advance but will disclose them as soon as the vaccines arrive."

Asked whether there is a way for the Korean government to respond if Moderna fails to deliver the vaccines again, Son stressed that if the supply delay is repeated, the government will take necessary countermeasures considering the global vaccine supply and demand situation and supply schedule.

Korea has vaccinated 28,641,079 people – 11,005,649 with the AstraZeneca vaccine, 14,107,696 with Pfizer's vaccine, 1,179,421 with Janssen's vaccine, 2,348,313 with Moderna's vaccine – with the first shot of the vaccine up 16,120 from the previous day.

The government aims to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the nation's population by September to create herd immunity in November.

On Monday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency confirmed 1,487 new virus cases, including 1,426 local infections, raising the total caseload to 250,051. The nation also reported five more people died from the virus, raising the death toll to 2,284 with a fatality rate of 0.91 percent.

With the daily Covid-19 tally staying about a four-digit figure for 55 consecutive days, health authorities said they are planning to announce special measures to apply during the Chuseok holiday from Sept. 18-22, on Friday.

Health officials expect that the guidelines will include details on the number of participants allowed in family gatherings and nursing homes.