◀ anchor ▶
The number of confirmed cases among children and adolescents under the age of 18 has surpassed that of adults.
The main reason is that the vaccination rate is lower than that of adults.
The government and experts are persuading that vaccination is the best prevention.
Reporter Jung Young-hoon reports.
◀ Report ▶
Lunchtime at a high school in Seoul where all schools are back to school.
“Come on, get your distance right…”
In the case of 1st and 2nd graders, less than half of the students who have received the COVID-19 vaccine have to go back to remote classes if they are confirmed.
[박하영 고교 교사]
“There are many students who have not received the vaccine (in grades 1 and 2), so if even one is confirmed, they all have to go into self-quarantine.”
The effectiveness of the vaccine is obvious.
The incidence of COVID-19 per 100,000 population of first and second year high school students was 6.9 and 7.1, respectively.
However, the number of high school seniors who were mostly vaccinated before the entrance exam was 1.4, a difference of up to 5 times.
[최은화/예방접종전문위원장]
“The incidence rate of high school seniors, who have a high vaccination rate, has significantly decreased, so it is evaluated that the preventive effect of vaccination for high school seniors is high…”
The fact that the number of confirmed adolescents is rapidly increasing after the phased recovery of daily life is also related to the low vaccination rate.
The vaccination completion rate for adolescents aged 12 to 17 years was 17.3%, which is far lower than the vaccination completion rate for adults 18 years of age and older (91.1%).
As a result, the number of confirmed students nationwide for the past week has averaged close to 400 per day, a record high.
In the past month, the number of confirmed cases under the age of 18 per 100,000 population stood at 99.7, exceeding the number of adult confirmed cases of 76.
The government said it is important to prevent the spread of infection, but it is essential to increase the number of vaccinations in order to prevent the spread of infection.
[유은혜/교육부 장관]
“We ask for your cooperation in participating in vaccination so that we can return to our normal daily lives, such as recovering the learning gap that has occurred due to distance learning.”
The Ministry of Education said that the vaccination period for 12-17 years old has been extended until January 22, next year, so it will provide sufficient opportunities for vaccination in consultation with the quarantine authorities.
This is Young-Hoon Jung from MBC News.
Video coverage: Jung Yong-seok Lee Jun-ha / Video editing: Park Hye-rin
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