[현장생중계]Special Briefing on Vaccination for Children and Adolescents (October 18)

When making a reservation or receiving an inoculation, please inform the consigned inoculation medical institution of pregnancy-related information, such as whether you are pregnant and the expected date of birth. For safe vaccination, if you have an underlying disease or are in the early stages of pregnancy less than 12 weeks, please check the condition of the pregnant woman and fetus before vaccination and receive the vaccination.

In the case of pregnant women, adverse reactions may occur at a level similar to that of the general public. If you have a fever after inoculation, take an antipyretic analgesic containing acetaminophen. Also, if you have symptoms such as a serious allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis, myocarditis, pericarditis, vaginal bleeding, or abdominal pain, please see a doctor.

The following is a guide to additional vaccinations. As the delta mutation spreads and as time passes after the primary inoculation, the inoculation effect decreases, leading to breakthrough infections, etc., increasing the need for additional inoculation.

For immunocompromised patients, such as leukemia, organ transplant patients, and patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs, vaccination is recommended from two months after the completion of the primary vaccination. For the target group, we have sent you information about vaccination by text message.

After checking the vaccination schedule, reservations for vaccination will start from October 18, and vaccination will be administered from November 1. Even if you are not included in the list of subjects for booster vaccination, you can receive a booster vaccination at an inoculation institution according to the opinion and judgment of your doctor.

From October 25th, booster vaccination will be started for the elderly and high-risk groups over the age of 60 who have passed 6 months after the completion of vaccination. So far, about 380,000 people have participated in the reservation, and those who have received the booster vaccination information can adjust the reservation schedule through the public health center, so we urge you to actively receive the booster vaccination.

From today, influenza vaccination for seniors aged 70 to 74 will also start. In addition, from this Thursday, the influenza vaccination will be carried out sequentially for seniors 65 years and older. We urge not only the elderly, but also children and pregnant women to be vaccinated against influenza in order to prevent severe and death from influenza infection in winter.

With the active participation of the public, the second vaccination is proceeding quickly. Last Saturday, the completion rate of vaccination among the elderly aged 60 and over exceeded 90%. Thank you to all the people who actively participated in vaccination.

However, the 4th epidemic is still in progress, so social distancing, along with vaccinations, and observing basic quarantine rules are very important. Please refrain from unnecessary private gatherings and thoroughly follow basic quarantine rules such as wearing a mask, washing hands, and periodically ventilating windows.

We also urge you to get tested immediately if you have had close contact with people other than your family or colleagues or if you have any suspicious symptoms. thank you.

[사회자]

From now on, we will invite experts to hold a vaccination briefing session for children and adolescents. I would like you to come up to the podium. In August last year, we used the vacation period to vaccinate high school 3rd graders first, and from today onwards, 16-17 year olds will also be vaccinated.
So far, about 55.5% of students have made a reservation, and from today onwards, vaccination will be carried out according to the reservation date at a nearby consignment medical institution.

Advance reservations for vaccinations for children and adolescents aged 12 to 15 will also be open from this evening. It is recommended that you carefully refer to the contents explained by the experts today, take precautions before and after vaccination, and refer to related information if you have not yet decided to vaccinate.

In particular, today, regarding the question of student immunization, the parent monitoring group of the Ministry of Education and the provincial and provincial offices of education sent a lot of questions. I would like to introduce two experts who will introduce the latest research results at home and abroad.

From the left, Professor Young-Jun Choi and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Anam Hospital were in attendance. Next to them are Professor Eun-Young Cho and Professor of Pediatrics at Chungnam National University Hospital. Thank you for joining us despite your busy schedule.

I hope that today’s question will be explained to students who will be vaccinated soon, so please explain it as easily as possible. In the order of questions, we will first answer the 16 questions received from students and parents, and then continue with the questions of the reporters.

So, let’s listen to the first public question. This is a question sent by a third-year student from Busan Middle School and a parent from Gangwon-do. You asked if there are any policies or measures to prevent discrimination between vaccinated and non-vaccinated students at school.

[정은경 / 질병관리청장]

I’ll answer. While we were discussing the vaccination plan for children and adolescents with the Ministry of Education, we discussed preventive measures to prevent discrimination or bullying between vaccinated and non-vaccinated persons and notified schools.

As mentioned above, since vaccination of children and adolescents is not compulsory but voluntary, we are notifying schools of these points, and schools do not investigate or identify individual vaccinations in advance so as not to create an atmosphere forcing them to be vaccinated. We are already guiding schools to avoid discriminatory measures such as giving special benefits to students who have been vaccinated.

In addition, the Ministry of Education, the Office of Education, and schools are currently preparing to provide continuous life guidance to prevent discrimination between students through life guidance. I urge students to respect individual opinions and decisions of friends regarding vaccination, and to work together to prevent discrimination or bullying between friends.

[사회자]

The second is a question sent by parents of 2nd year students of Chungnam Middle School. Vaccination of children and adolescents against COVID-19 is not compulsory, but a voluntary decision and recommendation. For students in each class or the same school, if some are vaccinated and some are not, the number of non-vaccinated students is higher than that of vaccinated students. In this case, it would be difficult to expect herd immunity, but I have a question to ask if there are any other countermeasures.

[정은경 / 질병관리청장]

The primary purpose of getting vaccinated is to prevent your own health, infection, and severe seriousness. In addition, if the number of vaccinations increases in the vicinity and in schools, it is judged that it will be effective in blocking transmission in schools and in stabilizing school education.

Currently, high school 3rd graders who have been vaccinated more than 95% are stably preparing for the entrance exam.

Currently, some of the routes of infection among students are spread within the school, but most of them are transmitted at home or in community multi-use facilities. I think it’s very important.

Therefore, the quarantine authorities are continuing their efforts to increase the vaccination rate in these areas. And it is difficult to achieve corona prevention by vaccination alone.

So, even if the vaccination rate is high, wear a mask, ventilate, and wash your hands. In particular, since we live closely at school, we must observe the quarantine rules within the school and, in the case of students, refrain from using multi-use facilities such as PC rooms and karaoke rooms, so that they can have a stable school life. I would like to emphasize once again that you can take care of your own health.