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| ▲ A health worker administers a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot to a person at a hospital in Seoul in this photo taken Nov. 8, 2021. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
coronavirus-booster shots
S. Korea to cut dosage interval for COVID-19 booster shots on senior citizens
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will cut the dosage interval between initial vaccination and COVID-19 vaccine booster shots on senior citizens in a move to curb breakthrough infections amid the rising number of critically-ill virus patients, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday.
Booster shots for people aged 60 or older and nursing hospital patients can be administered four months after their last dose, while those in their 50s can get extra jabs five months after their primary COVID-19 vaccination, Kim said at a COVID-19 response meeting.
A booster shot refers to an extra dose of a vaccine given after the protection provided by the original jabs wanes over time.
Currently, additional vaccine shots are given six months after people received their last dose.
"With the latest decision, about 13.78 million people will receive additional shots by the end of this year, which is double from our original plan," Kim said. "The number of serious COVID-19 cases is going over 500, so we urgently need to protect senior citizens from COVID-19."
People aged 60 or older account for 82 percent of serious COVID-19 cases and 97 percent of COVID-19 deaths recently, according to Kim.
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