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Original title: Increase in deaths South Korea continues to advance in influenza vaccination Source: Xinhua News Agency
The number of deaths after influenza vaccination in South Korea rose to 17 at noon on the 22nd, but the health department announced that day that no deaths directly related to the vaccine were found and will continue to promote the free program of flu vaccination.
This plan was launched last month and was suspended for several weeks due to an error in the transport link of the cold chain, after it was resumed on the 13th, the number of deaths increased, which raised doubts.
Deny “direct connection”
The Yonhap news agency reported that as of noon on the 22nd, at least 17 people in South Korea had died after being vaccinated against influenza, an increase of 9 people from the number reported the previous day.
“Despite the increase in deaths, experts believe that the deaths are not directly related to vaccines,” the director of the South Korean Agency for Disease Control, Zheng Yinjing, told Congress on the 22nd. a thorough investigation of the first nine deaths and conducting autopsies and epidemiological investigations to confirm the cause of death.
According to the Department of Disease Management, the cause of death of the two deceased may be related to severe allergic reactions after vaccination, that is, anaphylactic shock.
The Minister of Health and Welfare (equivalent to the Minister of Health) Park Linghou confirmed that the free vaccination program against seasonal influenza will not be suspended. He also said he “understands” and “regrets” the public’s concerns about vaccine safety. “We will investigate the cause of death and once again we will thoroughly examine the entire process from production (of the vaccine) to distribution, with the participation of various government agencies.”
The Korean Medical Association said the government should suspend the vaccination plan before confirming the safety of the flu vaccine.
To reduce the burden on the medical system by responding to the new corona epidemic and winter flu at the same time, South Korea expanded its influenza vaccination program this year and plans to provide free vaccines to approximately 19 million young and old. When the plan was launched in late September, it was discovered that the delivery of around 5 million doses of free vaccines was not being stored according to specifications. Therefore, it was suspended for three weeks and restarted on the 13th. So far, 8.3 million people have been vaccinated and a total of 350 people have reported adverse reactions.
The public still has doubts
The influenza vaccine used in South Korea’s free vaccination plan this year is supplied by five pharmaceutical companies, namely the local GC pharmaceutical company, SK Biotech, the Yiyang pharmaceutical company, the French group Sanofi and Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline. . Distributors include LG Chemical Company of South Korea and Boryeong Pharmaceutical Company.
According to Zheng Yinjing, the vaccines for the first nine deaths were produced by the five companies mentioned above, and the product batches were not the same. He denied that the cause of death could be related to the “side effects” or “toxicity” of the vaccine.
South Korea has a population of about 52 million and plans to vaccinate 30 million people against influenza this year. In addition to the free vaccination plan, the government also provides the vaccine on its own and manufacturers have more options in addition to the five companies mentioned above.
Jin Mingshuo (transliteration), 65, is eligible for free vaccination, but plans to vaccinate on his own. He told a Reuters reporter that the increase in deaths after vaccination “made him uncomfortable” so he wanted to vaccinate other drug companies on his own.
The health department said that the majority of deaths after flu vaccination were older people and most of them had underlying illnesses.
The Yonhap news agency cited the Department of Disease Control and reported on the 22nd that only one case of death in South Korea has been confirmed to be associated with the flu vaccine. A 65-year-old woman was diagnosed with the rare neurological disease “Miller Fisher Syndrome” after receiving the flu vaccine in 2009 and died the following year.
