Input 2021.03.10 07:07
According to the quarantine authorities on the 10th, the Vaccination Specialized Committee will be held in a closed video conference at the Osong Disease Administration in Chungbuk on the same day, and the contents will be discussed. The Vaccination Specialist Committee is expected to deliberate on whether vaccinations for elderly people over 65 years of age who delayed vaccination until the results of additional clinical trials were confirmed. The results of the discussion will be announced on the morning of the 11th, a day later.
At the time, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had proved the safety and effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but it was heard as evidence that there was a lack of clinical studies in the elderly. However, the UK recently found that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective for the elderly through a large-scale investigation, and European countries have also changed their position to’allow vaccinations’.
In line with this trend, the Korean government is also likely to expand the scope of AstraZeneca vaccination to 65 years of age or older. In fact, at a meeting between the quarantine authorities and experts held last week, it was reported that opinions gathered on allowing AstraZeneca vaccinations for persons 65 years of age or older. When the Vaccination Specialist Committee concludes that AstraZeneca vaccination will be vaccinated over the age of 65, the vaccination will be finalized through internal discussions of the Korea Disease Administration.
The government is also preparing an implementation plan for vaccination in the second quarter of this year. According to the’Corona 19 Vaccination Plan’ announced in January, in the second quarter, about 8.5 million people aged 65 and over, and about 900,000 residents and workers in welfare facilities for the elderly and living and using facilities for the disabled will receive vaccinations. The elderly are supposed to receive vaccinations sequentially. About 380,000 medical professionals and pharmacists working in clinics and pharmacies can also receive vaccinations from the second quarter.
Jung Eun-kyung, head of the central quarantine countermeasures, said in a briefing that “for vaccines with a certain supply schedule, we are making and reviewing a draft of the vaccination target and vaccination method.” I said.