The government said it will start inoculating high-risk groups with updated booster shots that can defend against the Omicron variants from Oct. 11
Health officials explained that it will use Moderna's bivalent vaccine for the inoculation.
Those aged 60 and over, with weakened immunity, and patients in long-term care hospitals and facilities are given priority in receiving the vaccine. Health authorities estimated that about 13 million people will be included in the priority group.
Those that wish to receive the bivalent vaccine can book a shot, starting next Tuesday.
Quarantine officials also said they will announce plans for the rest of the population as soon as possible.
However, the government stressed that same-day vaccination using residual vaccines will be available from October even for those not included in the priority group.
"Those who have completed primary vaccination are eligible for bivalent vaccination regardless of when they received the last dose," Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Peck Kyong-ran said. "A possible resurgence of the Covid-19 virus and the spread of influenza during the winter season make it essential for high-risk groups to receive additional booster shots to protect their health."
Health officials also stressed that they plan to quickly introduce Pfizer's BA.1-based bivalent vaccine. Officials recommended citizens receive the mRNA-based bivalent vaccine instead of the conventional vaccines targeting the original Covid-19 virus.
However, the government explained that for those who do not want to receive mRNA vaccination, inoculation using recombinant protein-based vaccines, such as Novavax's Nuvaxovid and SK Bioscience's SKYCovione is also possible.
In addition, the government said that it is preparing to safely and quickly introduce a bivalent vaccine based on Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.
On Wednesday, the KDCA confirmed 41,286 new Covid-19 infections, including 326 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,502,968.
The daily figure is the lowest of all Wednesday tallies since July 3, when cases dropped to 40,240.
The KCDA said the weekly infections from Sept. 11-17 decreased by 20.1 percent from the previous week.
The country reported 59 deaths, putting the death toll at 27,950, the KDCA said. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent. The number of critically ill patients remained high at 494, down three from the previous day.
According to the KDCA, about 44.67 million among 52 million Koreans have been fully vaccinated. In addition, about 33.58 million people had received their first booster shots, and 7.37 million had their second booster shots.