On the 14th, the 4th COVID-19 vaccine and Novavax vaccine were started for immunocompromised persons and residents of nursing hospitals and facilities.
In a regular briefing on the 14th, the government announced through a regular briefing that as the number of confirmed cases of the elderly recently increased once more, additional vaccinations would be given to immunocompromised persons and those in nursing facilities and hospitals, which had previously been a priority for vaccination. The fourth vaccination for the general public is not being considered. It is estimated that there are regarding 50,000 people with reduced immunity in the province who are the target of this fourth vaccination, and residents of nursing homes and facilities are currently being investigated. Professor Kim Woo-jin of Internal Medicine at Kangwon National University Hospital said, “As the number of confirmed cases of Omicron continues to increase, the general public is unlikely to develop severe, but high-risk groups are highly likely to develop severe, so a fourth vaccination is necessary.”
Vaccination of Novavax, made by genetic recombination, also started on the same day. Novavax vaccine is the fifth COVID-19 vaccine to be used in Korea following AstraZeneca (AZ), Pfizer, Janssen, and Moderna. On the first day of vaccination, the provincial quarantine authorities distributed 1,300 doses of Novavax vaccine, which were given priority, to public health centers and 30 designated consigned medical institutions in the province, and started the same day vaccination for regarding 55,000 people who were not vaccinated in the province. Advance reservations will also start from the 21st.
Although the government continues to announce plans for additional vaccinations, there are still voices that are concerned regarding the side effects of the vaccine. As of 00:00 on the 14th, a total of 16,654 cases of adverse reactions following vaccination in the province were counted. Kim Su-ho, head of the Gangwon Branch of the Corona Vaccine Victims Association, argued, “Increasing the number of vaccinations without proper identification of the cause of the side effects of the vaccine is no different from creating another victim.” Kim Jeong-ho
