A family member of a victim of an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine, who attended the National Audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Health and Welfare Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 7th, holds a notice from the vaccination damage investigation team. News 1
“After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, my body was so damaged that I had to have a bone marrow transplant. Despite the huge hospital bills, the government did not even provide minimal medical support after notifying that causality was not recognized with just a single A4 sheet of paper. I just did what the government told me to do, but because I got side effects from the vaccine, the government is now saying I don’t know.”
On the 7th, the second day of the national audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee’s Office of Audit and Inspection was attended by family members of victims who died or suffered serious illness as a result of an adverse reaction after being vaccinated against COVID-19. All of them complained that vaccination and acknowledgment of the causality of adverse reactions were too local, and that the government’s comfort and explanation were too insufficient.
“Causality evaluation comes and goes… tens of millions of won in hospital expenses”
Mr. A, who said his father was inoculated with the Corona 19 vaccine in March and suffered cardiac arrest within one day, said, “Isn’t it because vaccine manufacturers did not know exactly about the side effects that they received immunity from side effects? “Can people confidently claim that there is no connection between people getting vaccinated and their condition worsening and leading to death within a short period of time?”
Although local governments acknowledged the causality of vaccination, there were many cases where the damage investigation team of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not acknowledge it due to insufficient data. Mr. B, who was present as a witness, said that his healthy wife was vaccinated and even received a heart transplant. The Gyeongnam Provincial Office acknowledged causality, but it was not recognized by the damage investigation team after that. Mr. B said, “I have to take care of you 24 hours a day, and the hospital costs reach 66 million won.”
Kwon Deok-cheol (second from left in the front row), Minister of Health and Welfare, and Jeong Eun-kyung (first), head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, answer questions from lawmakers during the National Health and Welfare Committee audit held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 7th. By Oh Dae-geun
The enormous burden of treatment costs due to adverse reactions was not the only difficulty of Mr. B. Mr. C, who received the vaccine in March and was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, said, “I heard that you could die if you do not receive a bone marrow transplant three months after the vaccination. “The causality was not recognized, so there was not even a minimum amount of support for medical expenses,” he appealed.
“A mother in her 70s, who had diabetes and blood pressure, but had no problems with her daily life, suffered quadriplegia due to Guillain-Barré syndrome within 10 days of the second vaccination. It’s painful,” he sobbed.
It has also been pointed out several times that the government has shown a disrespectful attitude toward the victims. Mr. E, who said his mother died less than a month after vaccination, said, “In the process of inquiring about the causality deliberation, a person in charge of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hung up the phone, and I heard that there was no need to be kind to public officials.” he burst out in anger.
“Expand the causality criteria and support treatment costs in advance”
Lawmakers agreed that the problem was that the government did not transparently disclose the process and content of the causal evaluation. As the vaccine was developed less than a year ago, he raised his voice that the criteria for judging causality should be broadened and the treatment cost for severely ill patients should be more actively paid.
For example, there was only one case where causality was recognized after death from myocarditis after vaccination. People’s Strength Representative Kim Mi-ae said, “It is the same myocarditis, but I cannot tell the difference between which cases are acceptable and which ones are not. People’s Power also shed tears, saying, “The witnesses are only a part of the victims. Think of them as family and neighbors.”
The quarantine authorities bowed their heads. “There were many shortcomings and inadequacies in the procedure,” said Jung Eun-kyung, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol also said, “We will improve the mistakes in the response process and come up with various support measures.”
There were also proposals to create a fund to help the victims. Kang Ki-yoon, a member of the People’s Strength Council, said, “Let’s set up a system to comfort those who died of abnormal reactions by raising funds through companies.” Commissioner Jeong replied, “We will examine whether there is a possibility.”
Park So-young reporter sosyoung@hankookilbo.com
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