Even with an additional contract for 23 million people… Elderly people might wait for the vaccine until April

The government has secured an additional vaccine for the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) for 23 million people. However, the decision to vaccinate AstraZeneca vaccine only under the age of 65 seems to be insufficient to solve the twisted’inoculation schedule’. This is because additional vaccines are available only in April. It seems realistically difficult to pull the vaccination time for elderly people 65 years or older in nursing hospitals and nursing homes, which are vulnerable to infection and have a high fatality rate, to the end of this month as originally planned.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on the 16th that it has signed a contract with SK Bioscience to supply NovaVax vaccine. The quantity is for 20 million people. SK Bioscience has secured a vaccine technology license for NovaVax. Since the factory in Andong, Gyeongbuk, produces consignment, domestic production and domestic supply are possible. In addition, the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it has secured an additional 3 million Pfizer vaccines. For this, a supply contract was signed with Pfizer the previous day (15th). As a result, the amount of Pfizer vaccines secured by the government increased to 13 million people. The total vaccine volume is for 79 million products from six pharmaceutical companies.

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Commissioner Eun-kyung Chung said, “We will contribute to stable supply and demand through the early introduction of NovaVax vaccine and Pfizer vaccine that can be produced and supplied in Korea in a situation where there is high uncertainty in the supply of vaccines worldwide.”

However, despite the government’s efforts to secure such additional efforts, the timing of vaccinations for elderly people over 65 years old (37,700 people) in nursing hospitals and nursing homes, which was once delayed, cannot be pulled back to its original state. Corona 19 fatality rate is directly proportional to age. Those in their 80s and above recorded 20.91%. It is more than 11 times the domestic average fatality rate (1.82%). Those in their 70s are 6.43% and those in their 60s are 1.33%. Patients in nursing homes and nursing homes are elderly and vulnerable to Corona 19 due to underlying diseases (internal diseases). Until now, the estimated path of infection of corona19 deaths in Korea was nursing hospitals (24.6%) and nursing homes (13.6%), which amounted to 38.2% when combined.

For this reason, these elderly people were initially a top priority for the Corona 19 vaccination, which will begin at the end of this month. The general cold chain (refrigerated distribution) was planning to receive sufficient AstraZeneca vaccine by visiting nursing hospitals. However, as the judgment on the effectiveness of the vaccine’s vaccination for the elderly was delayed, the vaccination plan was distorted.

Elderly people in nursing homes and nursing homes currently have to endure without vaccines until at least April. Compared to developed countries abroad, the start of vaccination was much delayed, but the first vaccination target was also dropped. The NovaVax vaccine, which was signed on that day, will be supplied sequentially in the second quarter and early April.

Also, in the case of Pfizer vaccine, after negotiations between the government and Pfizer, the initial supply period scheduled after July was pulled to the end of next month. In March, 500,000 people are expected to arrive in initial volume. This early supply volume is an individual contract volume. It is separate from the volume of Pfizer that has decided to receive it from the multinational vaccine supplier’COVAX Facility’. It is not in the form of special import, but the approval procedure (item) must be followed. Eight steps must be taken in detail from reception to national shipment approval. It takes about 40 days. Pfizer Korea applied for an item permission in advance on the 25th of last month. Even if shipment approval is granted before import, the vaccination is only at the end of March.

Pfizer’s vaccine is inoculated at regional base vaccination centers equipped with special freezers because it requires strict distribution and storage at -75 degrees Celsius. It is not easy for bedridden patients in nursing hospitals to move to these vaccination centers and get the vaccine.

Jeong Gyeong-sil, head of the vaccination management team of the Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, said, “Now hospitals and residents over 65 years of age (patients) and residents in nursing homes and nursing facilities are mainly in discomfort, so it is difficult to get to the vaccination center and get vaccination.” “If AstraZeneca’s vaccination is judged to be difficult, then (at that time) we are considering using other vaccines such as Pfizer vaccine or Modena or Janssen vaccine that will come after March,” he said.

“If the 4th outbreak of Corona 19 begins (in Korea) and spreads in nursing hospitals, people will die unfairly,” said Jeong Ki-seok, a professor of respiratory medicine at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, who served as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You have to pull the vaccination.”

Reporters Minwook Kim and Sooyeon Hwang [email protected]