AsiaToday reporter Lee Sun-youngSouth Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 20,000 on the last day of the Lunar New Year holidays. Experts say the co..
AsiaToday reporter Lee Sun-youngSouth Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 20,000 on the last day of the Lunar New Year holidays. Experts say the co..
May 27, 2021 09:33
Health authorities started inoculating a potential 5.14 million people aged 65 to 74 against coronavirus on Thursday. They are given AstraZeneca s vaccine.
The government expects the pace to pick up after it increased vaccination centers from around 2,000 to 13,000 and a new reservation system has been set up to use up leftover vaccines.
As of Wednesday, the vaccination rate for first injections in Korea stood at just 7.7 percent and at a mere 3.8 percent for second shots. So far just 60.1 percent of the newly eligible 65-74-year-olds have booked their jabs amid lingering fears of side effects.
Health officials have pleaded with the elderly to get vaccinated soon because their next chance will not come until October at the earliest. They say deaths could decline sharply if all 13 million Koreans over 60, who are considered the most vulnerable age group, get their first shots by June and a quarter of the population acquires immunity.