[메디게이트뉴스 하경대 기자] How and when will the COVID-19 vaccination take place? According to the Central Defense Countermeasure Headquarters on the 25th, the’Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team’, in which government related ministries participate, will disclose specific vaccination plans on the 28th.
Early next month, the government plans to introduce 50,000 vaccines from the COVAX facility, a global vaccine joint purchase coalition, with priority. Pfizer’s product is the strongest vaccine.
In addition to this, the government has also established individual pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca (February to March, 10 million), Pfizer (3rd quarter, 20 million), Modena (20 million), Janssen (2nd quarter, 6 million), and NovaVax (May). It signed a purchase contract and secured an additional 76 million people.
Through this, the government’s plan is to complete all national vaccinations by September and to complete the collective immunity system from November. Collective immunity refers to a phenomenon in which the transmission of infection within the group is naturally suppressed if about 70% of the population forms antibodies.
The amount of vaccination that will be introduced sequentially from February is expected to be given first by senior high-risk groups such as medical staff and nursing hospitals.
In addition, it has been reported that adults with chronic diseases, children and adolescents working in education and childcare facilities, corona 19 first responders, police and fire officials and soldiers, prisoners in correctional facilities and treatment centers are also being considered for priority vaccination.
Even in the case of the United States and the United Kingdom earlier, the elderly in nursing homes, workers, and medical staff were ranked first in vaccination. However, some European countries, such as Norway, have also pointed out that a review of the vaccination of the elderly is necessary as the number of deaths among the elderly who received vaccination came out.
Specific details such as vaccination method and location are expected to be included in this vaccination plan. Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, such as Pfizer and Modena, that must be kept at a low temperature (minus 20 to 70 degrees Celsius) are vaccinated at the vaccination center, and vaccines such as Atsrazeneca can be obtained at consigned medical institutions.
To this end, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security is planning to designate 250 vaccination centers and operate about 10,000 entrusted medical institutions. If there is more than one vaccination center per city, county-gu, and the population exceeds 500,000, it is expected that approximately three will be designated.
On the other hand, there are concerns about the government’s unprecedented large-scale vaccination plan. It is a lack of detailed preparation for countermeasures such as response personnel and side effects.
In addition, as countries such as the United States and Europe also have a disruption in the planned supply of vaccines, it is suggested that plans such as securing the quantity should be carefully considered. According to local media such as the BBC, the supply of AstraZeneca Corona 19 vaccine in the first quarter decreased by about 60% from expected. In addition, vaccines such as Pfizer are being supplied 30% less than the initial supply of the contract.
Vice Chairman of the Korean Society of Vaccinations Ma Sang-hyuk said, “The government says that there is no disruption in vaccination from the beginning of February, but if you look at the previous cases, it may not be possible to get vaccinated in early February.” Said.
Vice Chairman Ma said, “It is said that there are 250 vaccination centers, but the plan for the manpower that can work here is missing. Even if a plan is established, if the number of Corona 19 patients increases, more people will be needed than expected.” There seems to be insufficient preparation for possible side effects such as anaphylactic shock during vaccination,” he added.