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By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL, Oct 23 (Reuters) – South Korea’s forensic agency has found no links between the death of a 17-year-old boy and the flu vaccine he had been given, the Yonhap news agency reported amid surges. Vaccine safety concerns after the death of at least 25 people.
The boy was one of the first to die as part of a government campaign to vaccinate some 30 million out of a population of 52 million to prevent complications from coronavirus. The death toll rose to 25 over the past week, prompting calls from doctors and politicians to halt the program.
Health authorities have refused to suspend the campaign on Thursday, citing a lack of evidence to suggest direct links between the deaths and vaccines.
The National Forensic Service has been performing autopsies on some of the deceased as part of a government investigation and determined that the 17-year-old boy’s death was unrelated to the vaccine, Yonhap said, citing police.
Both the forensic agency and police were not immediately contacted for comment.
Of the 25 cases, 22, including the child, received a free flu vaccine that the government assigned to about 19 million adolescents and seniors, according to the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA). At least seven of the nine people investigated had underlying diseases.
Vaccine suppliers include domestic companies such as GC Pharma, SK Bioscience, Korea Vaccine, and Boryung Biopharma Co. Ltd., a unit of Boryung Pharm Co. Ltd., along with France’s Sanofi. They provide both the free program and the paid services.
Ten people received products from SK Bioscience, five from Boryung and GC Pharma, four from Sanofi and one from Korea Vaccine.
It was not immediately clear if any of the vaccines made in South Korea were being exported or if those supplied by Sanofi were also being used elsewhere.
The four domestic companies declined to comment, while Sanofi did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Michael Perry)
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