A Hundred Days of Vaccination: Moving away from Safety Concerns and Putting More Faith in Herd Immunity

[경향신문]

A Million Doses of the Janssen Vaccine Arrives from the U.S.: Soldiers unload one million doses of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine provided by the U.S. administration after they arrived at Seoul Airport in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi on an Air Force transport plane in the early hours of June 5. Courtesy of the Gukbang Ilbo (National Defense Times)

As of June 5, it has been a hundred days since South Korea began rolling out vaccines against COVID-19. As of midnight June 6, 14.8% of the total population received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 4.4% received all two shots.

Despite the countless ups and downs, for now, the government appears to have passed the interim evaluation on the 100thday of inoculation in the “test” of administering first shots to 13 million people in the first half of the year. After administering the first vaccine on February 26, it took 90 days for authorities to vaccinate 7.8% of the population (May 26), but it only took twelve days to reach 14.8% after that. Authorities now have slightly over 10% remaining to reach their target for the first half of this year, 25% (13 million people). At the present rate, the nation is expected to reach the goal as early as in the third week of June and in the fourth week at the latest.

From June 7, authorities will begin vaccinating military soldiers aged 60-64 and under 30. They will also receive vaccination reservations from teachers and care workers at day care centers, kindergartens and teachers tending to first and second graders in elementary school who are under the age of 30. In addition to the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, the Moderna and Janssen vaccine roll out is in sight, so authorities will administer a wider variety of vaccines to a broader age spectrum.

This was something that could not be expected two months ago. Politicians and the press argued about which vaccine was better and questioned the safety of the vaccines, fueling public anxiety. The controversy grew in early April, when overseas experts began to acknowledge the connection between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare blood clot. The Korean Vaccine Society released a study claiming that 85% of the medical staff in their twenties and thirties who received the AstraZeneca vaccine suffered allergic reactions, and a series of press coverage linked cases of blood clots with the vaccine, despite that authorities had not confirmed any causal relations. However, as the nation witnessed the experiences of over 7 million people who received the vaccine and confirmed the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing the transmission of the virus, fear of allergic reactions is weakening.

In mid-April, the government was constantly under fire for the uncertainty in vaccine supply. U.S. pharmaceutical companies began reviewing a third booster shot and announced plans to supply the vaccines to the U.S. first. This led to concerns that South Korea would have problems securing the vaccines it needed.

People criticized, “The government failed to secure enough vaccines in advance,” and “It is unclear as to when the vaccines that have been secured will arrive.” They even claimed, “South Korea was excluded among the countries to receive vaccine assistance from the U.S.” and “We are being treated like a second-class ally.” In early May, the discussions moved on from the first shot to the second shot, while the AstraZeneca vaccines in stock started to dry out, fueling criticism of a vaccine dry spell.

Concerns on vaccine supply began to calm down when news that the government had successfully secured additional vaccines were released in the end of April and the vaccines began to arrive as promised. The vaccine partnership with the U.S. and the 1 million doses of the Janssen vaccine provided by the U.S. also contributed to the change in atmosphere. Domestic production of the vaccines drastically increased as Samsung Biologics began to produce the Moderna vaccine and SK Bioscience the Novavax vaccine, which also calmed concerns about supply.

In the past 100 days, the nation also witnessed a war with fake news. A flood of fake news swept the country. “Dozens of people died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.” “The government is refusing to acknowledge the side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine.” “Advanced countries are not administering the AstraZeneca vaccine.” Opposition politicians launched attacks claiming, “The AstraZeneca vaccine has serious side effects compared with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines,” and “People who receive the AstraZeneca vaccine cannot travel to Guam.” Disease control authorities said, “Sharing the results of a number of studies on the vaccines and constantly explaining the details mentioned in the fake news helped raise the vaccination rate.” Resuming in-person visits at care facilities and hospitals and presenting specific measures on how people who receive the vaccine could resume everyday life also contributed to the favorable public response.

The government’s original goal for the first half of this year was to administer the first dose of the vaccine to 12 million people, but the government later raised the target to 13 million and then to 13 million plus. The government also expects to achieve the goal earlier than the original deadline of the end of June.

Experts claim that increasing the acceptance of vaccination is key. More than 80% of senior citizens aged 60 and older have made reservations for the vaccines, and now authorities must encourage them to actually come out and receive the vaccines and also increase the vaccination rate among the young people and the middle-aged who are under sixty as much as possible. Authorities must not ease the grip on preventive measures, either. As we can see from COVID-19-positive cases confirmed after the patient had received both doses of the vaccine, the protective shield created by the vaccines is not perfect, and there are still risk factors, such as variants of the virus.