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SEOUL – South Korea will exclude seniors 65 and older from its first round of coronavirus vaccinations starting Feb.26, amid mounting concerns about how well the British drugmaker’s first batch of vaccine would work. -Swedish AstraZeneca, in older people.
The Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA) announced the decision on Monday (February 15), citing the lack of clinical data on the vaccine’s effectiveness in the elderly and how that may “reduce public acceptance.”
This marks a departure from previous plans to vaccinate all patients and staff first in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Now, only those under 65 at these facilities, an estimated 272,000 people, will get the shots first.
Second will be 354,000 medical workers in high-risk facilities such as general hospitals, who will be vaccinated from March 8. They will be followed by some 78,000 frontline Covid-19 workers, including first responders and epidemiological investigators, starting March 22.
People 65 and older are likely to get vaccinated in the second quarter of the year when new batches of vaccines arrive, KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said in a briefing on Monday.
South Korea has already secured vaccines to inoculate 56 million people, more than enough for its population of 51.8 million, from the Covax global vaccine exchange scheme, and separate agreements with drug makers such as AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer.
The first batch of vaccines, 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca, enough to inoculate 750,000 people, will be delivered February 24-28. They are manufactured locally in collaboration with the South Korean biopharmaceutical firm SK Bioscience.
Concerns had grown in Europe about the lack of data on the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine in people 65 years of age and older, and the poor results in fighting a South African variant of the virus.
South Korea’s Food and Drug Ministry approved the vaccine to be used in all age groups last week, but urged doctors to be more “vigilant” when administering it to people 65 and older, due to limited clinical data on them.
AstraZeneca is expected to address the problem with ongoing clinical trials in the United States, due to be submitted in late March.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 infections continued to grow in South Korea, with 344 cases reported on Monday. This brings the total to 83,869, with 1,527 deaths.
With Seollal, or Lunar New Year, over, authorities have relaxed social distancing restrictions starting Monday to allow small businesses such as restaurants, cafes and gyms in Seoul and Greater Seoul to operate an additional hour, until 10 a.m. p.m
Nightclubs, karaoke bars and other high-risk entertainment venues, which have been closed since November when the third wave of Covid-19 began, were also allowed to reopen and run until 10 p.m.
The ban on social gatherings of more than four people is maintained, but family members and relatives can meet in greater numbers.
Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said at a virus response meeting on Monday that concerns remain about the spread of the virus, as people had traveled during the Seollal holiday last week. He also warned people not to lower their guard.
President Moon Jae-in said new social distancing rules will be introduced next month in line with the vaccination program, and the government will take stricter measures against violating the rules.
“Even when the vaccines start, the war against Covid-19 is destined to become a long-term one,” he said in a weekly meeting with high-level advisers on Monday.
“We need to find a way to make the fight compatible with people’s livelihoods.”
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