The government will start providing Covid-19 vaccines to children aged 5-11 soon, starting with high-risk groups due to weakened immunity, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said Monday.
Jeong said the agency is preparing an inoculation plan for 5- to 11-year-olds and will announce a detailed schedule a week later.
On Feb. 23, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved the use of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, Comirnaty 0.1mg/ml, for kids, after confirming the vaccine's safety. The amount of active ingredients in a single dose of this product is one-third of a vaccine licensed for children 12 years of age or older.
"Since the vaccine for children aged 5-11 is a very different vaccine, we are preparing the details by securing a supply schedule for this vaccine," Jeong said.
Jeong added that as the vaccine has confirmed its efficacy in preventing infection and severe cases in children aged 5-11, the agency has judged it is necessary to prioritize high-risk groups, including children with weakened immunity."
“We will designate an institution and provide inoculation and reservation information so that children can receive vaccines as early as possible,” Jeong said.
The authorities have cautiously reviewed the pediatric Covid-19 vaccination plan by referring to overseas cases. However, as the number of confirmed cases of children under 11 increased with the start of the new semester, the food and drug safety ministry decided that it is necessary to provide the vaccine to young children urgently.
According to the KDCA, the number of new virus cases among children and adolescents under 18 was 48,912 in the first week of March, an increase of 1.3 times from the previous week.
The share of confirmed patients under 18 decreased slightly compared to the first week of February, but that of kids under 11 has increased significantly.
The quarantine authorities expressed concerns that the risk of infection in schools will increase when all schools start face-to-face classes after the adaptation week for the new semester.
Meanwhile, the National Election Commission (NEC) decided Monday to allow Covid-19 patients and those in quarantine to put their votes into ballot boxes themselves.
The decision follows a flurry of criticism of foul play about the earlier decision by the NEC to collect their votes in unofficial containers.
Virus patients and those in quarantine can vote from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. after getting temporary leave permits from health authorities before going to the polls.
The KDCA confirmed 210,716 new virus cases, including 210,628 local infections, raising the cumulative caseload to 4,666,977. The number of critically ill patients came to 955, up 70 from the previous day. An additional 139 people died of Covid-19, lifting the death toll to 9,096, with a fatality rate of 0.19 percent.
Swamped by the Omicron surge, the Korean government has shifted its focus to treating serious cases and preventing deaths, ending its rigorous contact tracing program.
It also increased the use of rapid antigen self-test kits and at-home treatment, as medical staff and other resources have been stretched thin.
Starting Saturday, some multiuse facilities, including cafes and restaurants, were allowed to stay open by one more hour to 11 p.m. as part of the government's efforts to reduce financial pain for small businesses. However, the current six-person cap on private gatherings will remain in place.
The new rules will be in place until March 20.
The current wave is forecast to peak around mid-March with some 350,000 daily cases, according to the KDCA.
As of Monday, 31.8 million people, or 62 percent of the country's population, had received booster shots. The number of fully vaccinated people came to 44.39 million, accounting for 86.5 percent, the KDCA said.