The recent enactment of the so-called three data privacy laws has laid the legal ground for the government to open public health data.However, Korea still has a long way to sharing healthcare big data because civic groups keep raising concerns about a privacy breach and the possibility of data use f
The government said that it would announce detailed plans for its fourth-quarter inoculation, including adolescents aged 12 to 17, later this month.“We plan to implement vaccination for children and adolescents in the fourth quarter,” said Kim Ki-nam, a member of the Corona 19 Vaccination Response P
The government should provide more support and human resources for the bio-health industry while working out policies and global strategies to better deal with infectious diseases, such as Covid-19, an expert said Monday.“In conclusion, no one is safe until everyone is safe, and we must prepare and
The government said Friday that it would examine measures to increase incentives for those vaccinated and simplify quarantine rules.“We plan to expand incentives for those who have completed vaccination,” said Lee Ki-il, a division chief at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarter
With pharmaceutical companies, local and foreign, racing against time to develop an oral Covid-19 treatment, health officials said they were ready to sign a purchase contract after monitoring the development status."The government is monitoring the developing situations of oral Covid-19 treatment an
Korea marked a new record in the share of infections with unknown routes on Wednesday, officials said.There were 23,992 new confirmed cases reported to the quarantine authorities in the past two weeks. About 36.7 percent of the total, or 8,815, are cases with unknown infection routes. The percentage
The health authorities said they would recognize vaccine trial participants as fully vaccinated to encourage participation in local Covid-19 vaccine studies.Earlier on Aug. 19, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced plans to support quick phase 3 trials of Covid-19 vaccines and issue vaccinati
Korea may change its quarantine policy to the "With Corona" system from late October, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said Tuesday.The "With Corona" plan refers to the shift of the quarantine system to focusing on severe patients while letting most ot
The number of foreigners getting medical treatment in Korea decreased by more than half last year, a government report said.Thanks to Korean physicians’ excellent techniques, relatively lower hospital bills, and the government’s push to turn the medical industry into another hard-currency earner, th
President Moon Jae-in on Monday raised the possibility of a significant shift in Korea's quarantine system as the nation's vaccination program gains pace."With the active participation of the public, the vaccination rate is rapidly increasing," Moon said. "The number of primary vaccinations has exce
The government announced that it would extend the current social distancing scheme implemented nationwide until Oct. 3, but ease the some measures after facing fierce backlash from small-business owners.From next week, private gatherings of up to six people, including four people who have completed
A compound injection of acetaminophen plus ibuprofen recently received regulatory approval in Korea on Monday, marking the first landing of a unique double-action formulation for fast and effective pain relief.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approved KB Pharm to supply Maxigesic, the com
The public health authorities have concluded that the Covid-19 vaccines have no links to recently reported cases of acute leukemia, citing the opinions of hematological experts.Health officials said it is unnecessary to worry about leukemia after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine and recommended people
The first CAR-T therapy, Kymriah (ingredient: tisagenlecleucel), failed to pass the review of a panel at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) due to its hefty price tag of 500 million won ($430,884).According to an official at HIRA, the agency’s cancer drugs benefit appraisal co
Health authorities said that if the six million doses of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine do not arrive in time, it could be hard to achieve the government's immunization goals.Moderna had said that it would supply less than half of the 8.5 million doses scheduled for supply in August due to a production
The government said it is pushing for a plan to change its social distancing scheme application period from the existing two to three weeks to a monthly interval from next week."We will adjust the distancing scheme and quarantine rules while discussing how to implement such strategies on a monthly b
The government plans to vaccinate children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 and pregnant women, excluded from the local Covid-19 inoculation program until now, in the fourth quarter.At a regular briefing on Monday, the Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team said that the government's vaccination
“Social fear caused by exaggerated or distorted information makes it difficult for the health authorities to quickly respond and cooperate with the community to overcome the crisis.”So said nine medical societies, including the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases (KSID), in a joint statement to th
Korea should shift its health policy from reducing the number of mild Covid-19 cases to focusing medical resources on severe cases, health experts said.Such opinions came at the Democratic Party’s public health task force meeting after the ruling party said it would openly discuss preparations for t
Korea's new Covid-19 cases stayed below 1,900 for the second consecutive days on Friday, but the increase of untraceable infections hampered quarantine efforts.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency confirmed 1,841 new virus cases, including 1,811 local infections, raising the total caseloa