◀ anchor ▶
The best defense you can choose right now is also a vaccine.
And now the concept of “vaccinated” seems to change.
The booster vaccination is no longer an option, but a mandatory third primary vaccination.
Next is reporter Park Jin-joo.
◀ Report ▶
A hospital in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul.
Seniors in their 8s and 90s with reduced mobility were supported by a caregiver and came in one after another to receive booster vaccinations as a group.
[김원화/90세 추가접종자]
“It was tingling. I got it because I was worried about the corona virus, and I was also worried about the family members (I was afraid of passing it on)…. I’m relieved because I got the injection.”
The government is speeding up this week with the goal of completing booster vaccinations in nursing homes and facilities.
For nursing facilities where vaccination is delayed due to lack of medical staff, 60 military medical personnel will be deployed.
[권덕철/보건복지부 장관]
“Depending on how quickly older people complete their booster doses, we can stop the rise in critically ill patients, allow the health care system to survive, and eventually move forward with daily recovery.”
Although the vaccination completion rate is approaching 80%, the number of breakthrough infections is rapidly increasing, especially among those aged 60 or older.
As the effect of the vaccine lasts shorter than expected due to the delta mutation epidemic, breakthrough infections are rapidly increasing in other countries as well.
In Israel, which had the fastest vaccination rate, the number of confirmed cases again reached 10,000 in September.
For this reason, the Korean government is also planning to expand the concept of completion of vaccination to the third booster vaccination.
It is in the same vein that we are trying to introduce an expiration date on the quarantine pass.
[이기일/중앙재난안전대책본부 제1통제관]
“Because it is a booster vaccination, this is not a choice. It can be seen that the most important thing is to recognize it like the 3rd basic vaccination and get it right.”
It is also expected that, if the epidemic continues in the future, a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine may be included in the national mandatory vaccination list, like other flu vaccines.
This is Park Jin-joo from MBC News.
Video coverage: Kim Woo-ram / Video editing: Oh Yu-rim
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