The World Health Organization recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is expected to enter Korea this month, can be vaccinated to elderly people 65 years of age or older. There has been controversy that the vaccine effect is inferior to the elderly, but with the announcement of the World Health Organization, the Korean government also entered into a final discussion.
This is Kim Ki-tae.
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The World Health Organization’s WHO Expert Strategic Advisory Group, first of all, admitted that there is a lack of vaccine efficacy data for those 65 and older.
AstraZeneca vaccine has not obtained statistically significant results with only 7.4% of the elderly clinical participants.
Nevertheless, the WHO also recommended the use of the vaccine to older people aged 65 and older, saying there is no evidence that older people show different reactions compared to those of lower age groups.
[알레한드로 크라비오토/WHO 전문가전략자문그룹 의장 : 우리는 안전과 면역 데이터를 살펴보는 완전한 기준을 갖고 있습니다. 따라서 18세 이상이라면 나이 제한 없이 백신을 접종할 것을 권합니다.]
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also held a closed meeting on the afternoon of the 11th to discuss the final vaccination plan of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The key is whether to include over 65 years of age, and the government will announce a specific vaccination plan on the 16th.
Another problem is the effectiveness of the vaccine against the mutant virus that is spreading around the world.
AstraZeneca has been put on hold by South Africa as studies have shown that it has a limited effect on mutations originating in South Africa.
The situation is similar for treatment.
Celltrion’s domestic antibody treatment was confirmed to have little effect on mutant viruses from South Africa.
[권준욱/국립보건연구원장 : 당국에서는 남아공 변이주 확진 환자에게는 해당 항체치료제 사용 제한을 권고할 계획(입니다.)]
In the case of remdesivir, a US-made drug, it has been shown to be effective in both the UK and South African mutant viruses.
The Korean government has imported this treatment specially and is using it for severely ill patients.
(Video editing: Soyoung Lee)