South Korea resumes influenza vaccination as the number of deaths after vaccination has increased to 59

Influenza vaccination in South Korea has continued as planned, and most recent deaths after vaccination have been reported to be unrelated to influenza vaccination, health officials said Monday.

Of the 59 people who died after being vaccinated against the flu this year (up from 48 on Saturday), 46 were thought to be unrelated to the flu shot. Investigations into the remaining 13 deaths have begun, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement.

“There is no causal link between death and the vaccine, so we decided not to consider discontinuing use,” KDCA said.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyu said at a meeting held at South Korea’s Central Disaster Safety Measures Headquarters on Sunday, “We will respect the scientific judgment of experts and start vaccination of elderly people aged 62 to 69 as scheduled. “.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday, “Trust the health authorities to consider expert conclusions and announcements. As a result of testing and comprehensive judgment, directly between death and vaccination It was confirmed that there was no specific causal relationship. The autopsy of the cases reported so far, etc. “, at a meeting held at the presidential office of the presidential office and official residence.

According to South Korea, last week the Korea Medical Association “recommended to refrain from vaccination for a week,” but said it did not suggest stopping vaccination, before the decision was made. Called for further investigation. Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

Neither of the 59 recent deaths was caused by anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction that can occur after vaccination, KDCA said.

“To confirm anaphylactic shock, you must die within hours of vaccination. In most cases [of the recent] Death took more than a day, and if it died in a short period of time, there were other underlying illnesses, “said a KDCA official. Chosun Ilbo report.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare condition that causes weakness and sometimes paralysis, and is another symptom that can occur after flu vaccination. “There have been cases of myasthenia gravis for weeks and months, and no such cases have occurred among the deaths after vaccination this year,” said a KDCA official.

As of Sunday, a total of 1,231 people in South Korea have reported side effects after being vaccinated against the flu this year and will continue to investigate the causes of recent deaths after vaccination, health officials said.

Since the start of this year’s vaccination program in September, more than 9.4 million people have been vaccinated against influenza in South Korea, according to Reuters.

KDCA said the latest death toll after influenza vaccination was not higher than in the previous year. Last year, 1,531 people over the age of 65 died within seven days of being vaccinated against the flu, according to KDCA. “This is the number of people who died after vaccination, regardless of the cause and effect of vaccination,” said KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-Ke.

South Korea’s Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung Hoo said, “Vaccination brings far greater benefits compared to side effects, and both WHO [World Health Organization] Agrees with domestic and foreign experts, “said at a briefing on Sunday.

President Moon Jae-in said on Monday: “This year we need to expand influenza vaccination not only to prevent influenza, but also to prevent co-infection and spread of influenza and coronavirus. Mortality does not increase the risk of getting serious influenza.”

According to the latest WHO report on Sunday, the latest deaths after influenza vaccination are 457 deaths and 25,836 infected COVID-19 outbreaks in South Korea.

Earlier this year, in a letter to President Moon Jae-in, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates revealed that he could manufacture 200 million vaccine kits each year starting next June. South Korea’s SK bioscience develops successful COVID-19 vaccine..

“I was impressed with South Korea’s response to the outbreak,” Gates said. “Korea is at the forefront of vaccine development in the private sector.” East Asia The newspaper reported.