[속보]February~March Corona 19 vaccination plan announced tomorrow… Elderly AZ vaccination guide also released

The detailed plan for vaccination against the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), which will proceed until next month, will be released on the 15th.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 14th, the Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team will announce the’Corona 19 Vaccination February-March Implementation Plan’ at the Government Seoul Building at 11 am on the 15th. Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun announces the implementation plan, and Chung Eun-kyung, the head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, receives related inquiries and explains the details.

The Agency for Disease Control and Prevention originally planned to hold a briefing on the 16th, but it advanced the schedule by one day. About the sudden schedule adjustment, the disease administration said, “In consultation with related ministries, the schedule for the announcement of the plan has been accelerated.”

In order to prepare detailed plans for vaccinations in February and March, the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention held a discussion on the vaccination specialty committee, an advisory body, on the 11th, and has been working to determine the targets for vaccination based on this. It is known that the first vaccination will begin on the 26th, and the detailed plan is expected to include the targets for each vaccine and a specific vaccination schedule.

The current issue is whether to give priority to AstraZeneca’s (AZ) vaccine even for seniors aged 65 or older. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has previously decided to state that the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine should be carefully determined in the precautions for use while permitting the domestic use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. This is because the clinical trial data on the effectiveness of vaccination for the elderly are insufficient.

Some countries, such as Germany and France, also recommend that the AstraZeneca vaccine not be used in the elderly for the same reason. In this situation, if the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention decides to give the AstraZeneca vaccine a priority vaccination for the elderly,’effectiveness controversy’ could lead.

According to the vaccination plan announced last month by the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention, the targets for the first quarter are 830,000 people, including 50,000 medical staff who treat corona19 patients and 780,000 elderly and workers in nursing hospitals and nursing facilities. Among them, the Pfizer vaccine is inoculated to medical staff, so it is highly likely that residents and workers in nursing hospitals and nursing facilities will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

/ Reporter Joo-won Lee [email protected]

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