Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Defense Countermeasures Headquarters, is announcing the domestic outbreak and vaccination status of Corona 19 at the Chungju Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Chungju on the afternoon of the 22nd. Cheongju = Newsis
On the 22nd, the vaccination expert committee composed of experts in health and infectious diseases recommended continuing the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccination. Accordingly, the vaccination for 375,000 people, including senior citizens aged 65 and older who are hospitalized and employed in nursing hospitals and nursing facilities, will begin on the 23rd. The AZ vaccine was once withheld due to lack of clinical data to prove its effectiveness in the elderly over the age of 65, and after the vaccination, patients with cerebral thrombosis were controversial.
Vaccination is usually accompanied by adverse reactions, and it is a cognitive assumption that citizens feel anxious, but experts conclude that no association has been found that vaccination increases the risk of blood clots. Rather than refusing vaccination due to vague anxiety, we should listen to experts saying that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the likelihood of side effects. President Moon Jae-in and his wife, who are attending the G7 Summit held in the UK in June, are also said to be vaccinated with the AZ vaccine on the 23rd. AZ vaccination by national leaders is an appropriate measure in that it can relieve vague anxiety and increase confidence in vaccination.
It is worrisome that mistrust about vaccines rises at the time when vaccination needs to be accelerated. It is said that 77% of people who are hospitalized and workers aged 65 or older have consented to vaccination. The rate of consent for vaccination under the age of 65 is much lower than the 94-95% level. Low vaccination consent rates can slow the efforts of our society to achieve early group immunity. Health authorities should consider necessary measures, such as vaccination against not only the President and other socially celebrities, but also against the President and abroad, with a high policy goal of restoring trust in vaccines.
Of course, even if patients with blood clots or adverse reactions continue to occur, prompt and accurate information must be provided to the public. The authorities should keep in mind that the normalization of transparent communication based on scientific evidence and a continuous explanation of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines in line with the public eye are prerequisites for achieving collective immunity.
News directly edited by the Hankook Ilbo can also be viewed on Naver.
