SEOUL – South Korea has inoculated nearly a million of its population in the 40 days since the country launched its Covid-19 vaccination campaign, said health authorities here today.
A total of 999,870 people have been administered their first shot, accounting for 1.92% of the country’s 52 million population, reported the Yonhap news agency, citing the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
Those who have received both shots number 27,691 people.
South Korea began its immunisation programme on February 26, with healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents aged below 65 among the first to be vaccinated.
Of the total, 870,724 people received the first jab of the two-dose regimen developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University, said KDCA.
Yonhap said 129,145 people got the first shot of United States pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine, with this group comprising mostly doctors, nurses and other medical professionals treating coronavirus patients in the greater Seoul area.
Vaccines were administered to members of the public aged 75 and older, as well as other high-risk groups, last Thursday.
Authorities plan to inoculate individuals aged between 65 and 74 next month.
Amid mounting concern about the delayed shipment of vaccines due to AstraZeneca’s supply glut, South Korean officials said the shipment schedule for the first half of the year has been finalised.
Through end-June, a total of 18.08 million doses are scheduled to be delivered, with around 2.69 million already shipped in as of last month, said KDCA.
In the April-June period, at least 15.39 million doses, including 9.1 million from AstraZeneca, will be delivered.
A total of 36 deaths following vaccination have been reported, but no direct link with the jabs themselves has been confirmed, with the conclusion in 19 cases being there is no link at all, said KDCA.
Two cases were concluded to be due to an anaphylactoid reaction, which is similar to anaphylaxis, or a serious allergic reaction after immunisation.
The country reported 475 new Covid-19 infections today, making for a total caseload of 106,230. – Bernama, April 6, 2021
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