[ad_1]
On Thursday, the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA) said that 72 deaths after influenza vaccination in the country were not related to the vaccination program and encouraged citizens to continue getting vaccinated.
After reviewing the autopsies of 71 deceased patients, most of whom were between the ages of 70 and 80, the KDCA found that there was no direct link between flu vaccination and deaths. The cause of death is unknown in the remaining autopsy.
Of those 71 autopsies, the agency found that each person had a serious underlying health condition that resulted in death.
On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control reported that among the deaths reviewed by the KDCA, there have been no associations with anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction that can follow immunization and lead to deaths.
According to a report released by the KDCA, a total of 9.68 million people have been vaccinated so far through South Korea’s National Immunization Program. Of those vaccinated, at least 1,551 people have reported adverse side effects.
Despite an increase in public concern, the agency has stated that it does not plan to suspend its public immunization program and urges citizens to continue getting vaccinated.
“After reviewing the death cases so far, this is not the time to suspend a flu vaccination program as vaccination is very crucial this year considering … the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Jeong Eun- Kyung, director of the KDCA, during a briefing this week.
Chung Sung-Jun / Getty
The KDCA reported that the vaccines associated with the deaths came from seven different companies. The surge in deaths prompted Singapore health officials to temporarily suspend vaccines from two companies, one produced by South Korean company SK Bioscience and the other by French multinational Sanofi, according to the South China morning post.
Although no deaths have been reported in Singapore, health authorities say they are pausing vaccines for precautionary reasons.
In the US, the CDC estimates that influenza has caused 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 and 810,000 hospitalizations, and between 12,000 and 61,000 deaths a year since 2010.
This season, at least 150 million doses of the flu vaccine have been distributed, and so far there have been no vaccine-related safety issues or deaths, according to the CDC.
“Flu vaccines have been used safely in the United States for decades, with millions of doses administered each flu season,” the agency wrote on its website, indicating that it will continue to closely monitor the situation in South Korea. .
Newsweek contacted the CDC for additional comment, but did not receive a comment in time for publication.
On Monday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged citizens to “Please trust the health authorities to review the conclusions and presentations made with experts.”
“It is confirmed that there is no direct causal relationship between death and vaccination as a result of comprehensive examinations and trials such as the autopsy of the cases reported so far.”
