※Source: Ministry of Education, Disease Management Office
The Ministry of Education and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on the 8th to complete mandatory vaccinations before entering elementary and middle schools.
Essential vaccination items are 4 types of elementary school students: DTaP 5th, IPV 4th, MMR 2nd, Japanese encephalitis (4th inactivated vaccine or 2nd live attenuated vaccine). Middle school students consist of three types: Tdap (or Td) 6th, Japanese encephalitis (5th inactivated vaccine or 2nd live attenuated vaccine), and HPV 1st (for female students only).
In accordance with the Infectious Disease Prevention and Management Act, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Education, local governments, and elementary and junior principals are required to confirm the completion of vaccination for enrolled students. Guardians of children who are about to enter elementary and junior high school can check the vaccination history on the’Vaccination Helper’ website (nip.kdca.go.kr) or a mobile app. To use the vaccination assistant, you must register your child’s information after signing up as a member.
If the required vaccination has not been completed, the vaccination can be completed at a designated medical institution near you. If you have received the vaccination and the record is missing, you can request a computerized registration from the institution that received the vaccination.
If you are contraindicated in vaccination, you do not need to do so by requesting a computerized registration of the reasons for vaccination at a medical institution. You can get a medical certificate from a medical institution specifying the reasons for vaccination and submit it to the school after enrollment. Contraindications include a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine (anaphylaxis), an encephalopathy with an unknown reason within 7 days after administration of the pertussis vaccine, an immunodeficient person or an immunosuppressant user. This does not apply to atopy, temporary high fever, and egg allergy.
Education authorities believe that when school starts in March, the risk of outbreaks of groups such as measles and mumps may increase. The Ministry of Education said, “If vaccination is delayed or discontinued, we may suffer from the double trouble of responding to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) and the epidemic of infectious diseases such as measles and other vaccinations.” He emphasized.
Reporter Nam Yoon-seo [email protected]