SEOUL (Reuters) – The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Friday that after reviewing more than two dozen cases raised in public, it would push for a massive flu vaccination program aimed at eliminating complications from the coronavirus. Anxiety.
The KDCA said in a statement that it is scheduled to meet on Saturday to review the additional analysis, adding that the review found no direct link between vaccination and the 26 deaths investigated.
The death toll among those vaccinated rose to 36 on Friday, prompting calls from doctors and politicians to stop the program, which aims to vaccinate one million of the country’s millions of people.
The KDCA said the results of 20 initial autopsies by the police and the National Forensic Service showed that 13 people had died from cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and other disorders caused by the vaccination, while seven additional examinations were underway.
Both the forensic agency and police could not immediately be reached for comment.
Prime Minister Chung Si-kin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and called for a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of death.
“So far experts have said shots and deaths are less likely to be related but many civilians remain concerned,” he said at a meeting.
The rising death toll has fueled the debate over whether the free living program for some citizens should be postponed. The vaccination was called for until the safety of the vaccines was ensured by a group of the country’s largest doctors, while a large vaccine congregation said inoculation should continue as no death toll was found.
Advised to start again
Some local governments and district offices across the country have voluntarily advised residents to take flu shots or are considering postponing the program.
Vaccine providers include local companies such as GC Pharma, SK Bioscience, Korea Vaccine and Boring Biopharma Co Ltd, a unit of Borung Fame Co Ltd. 003850.KS, With Sanofi of France SASY.PA. They provide both free programs and paid services.
Of those killed, 10 died in S.K. Bioscience products were obtained, five from Boring and GC Pharma, four from Sanofi and one from Korea Vaccine. There were no details about the latest 11 cases.
KDCA director Jeong N-kyong said on Thursday that the vaccines would be supplied, but the government may consider suspending some products with batches containing the number of manufactures produced at the plant on the same day, if more people die using them. One batch contains about 150,000 doses.
It was not immediately clear whether any vaccines made in South Korea were being supplied by Sanofi if they were being used elsewhere.
All four local companies declined to comment.
Sanofi cited KDCA’s findings but said in a statement to Reuters that scientific assessments and monitoring were ongoing and would work closely with local health officials.
South Korea has ordered 20% more flu vaccines this year in what it calls a “twindemic” outbreak of a major flu and Covid-19 outbreak in the winter.
The KDCA said 9.4 million people had been inoculated since the program began in September, with about 789 cases of adverse reactions reported.
As of midnight on Thursday, 155 new coronavirus cases have been reported in the KDCA, with a total of 25,698 infections, including 455 deaths.
Reporting by Hyunhi Shin; Additional reports by Matthias Blymont in Paris and Joyce Lee in Seoul; Edited by Michael Perry, Stephen Coates, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Francis Carey
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