November’s collective immunity crossing the water… Vaccination Rate to Korea #35 out of 37 OECD

As the so-called “K quarantine” such as vaccine introduction, vaccination speed, and management of confirmed patients faced a crisis, the goal of forming a group immunity in November was a red light. According to’Hour World In Data’ on the 5th, as of the 3rd, Korea has been vaccinated at 1.93 doses (one dose) per 100 population. It is ranked 35th out of 37 countries that have joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team counted the cumulative number of vaccinations to 9,944, including both the first and second vaccinations as of 0 o’clock on the 5th. Starting on February 26, the vaccine was given for 38 days, so an average of 26,055 people received the vaccine per day. The government aims to complete the first vaccination of 12 million people in the first half of the year, but if the current situation is correct, a downward revision of the target is inevitable. The reason for the slow vaccination is the lack of supply.

The government signed a contract for the introduction of a total of 56 million people and said that additional consultations for 20 million people were in progress, but 1,345,500 people were introduced in the first quarter, and only 7.2 million people were introduced in the second quarter. Even that, the schedule for introducing more than 500,000 people in the second quarter is still unclear. The schedule for the introduction of Janssen, Modena, and NovaVax, which the government had decided to supply in the second quarter, has not been announced.

Ki-Seok Jeong, a professor of respiratory medicine at Hallym University’s Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, who served as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “Last July, the government ignored the proposal to purchase a Pfizer vaccine. It was late, and the situation as it is now came.” Regarding the order of vaccination, it was argued that in order to prevent the further spread of Corona 19 and to recover from socio-economic damage early, those in their 20s and 40s who had a lot of activity had to have been vaccinated first.

Professor Hong Seok-cheol of Seoul National University presented the results of a study in the forum held on the 18th of last month, saying that vaccinating the vaccine first by people in their 20s and 40s and self-employed people can help economic recovery. Announced. It is explained that Korea has a relatively low mortality rate because the Corona 19 response system is well established compared to the United States and Europe, so it is more socially beneficial to prevent the spread among younger generations and restore the economy earlier than to further reduce the number of deaths.

Despite this situation, dissatisfaction is rising as the government has emphasized only the sacrifices of the people, such as strengthening’social distancing’. Minister of Public Administration and Security Jeon Hae-cheol (second deputy head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters) said on the day that “the policy to thoroughly apply the zero-tolerance principle to violations”.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Defense Countermeasures Headquarters (Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) said, “The infection reproductive index evaluated last week was 1.07, which exceeded 1, so I think it could increase more than the current 500 units.” The Infection Reproduction Index is an index indicating how many other people are infected by one confirmed patient. If this index is less than 1, it means’prevention of the outbreak’, and if it is more than 1, it means’the spread of the outbreak’.

Meanwhile, in the midst of a “shortage phenomenon” of vaccines, President Moon Jae-in said, “We will secure additional quantities as well as early introduction of the contracted quantity for all possibilities.”

[임성현 기자 / 박윤균 기자]
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