The nation’s authorities has rolled out a flu vaccine marketing campaign, involved concerning the potential simultaneous unfold of coronavirus and influenza.
At the very least 36 individuals have died after taking flu vaccinations since final Friday, together with a 17-year-old. The typical age of those that died was 74, in accordance with the South Korean Illness Management and Prevention Company (KDCA).
As of Friday, greater than 14 million individuals had gotten the flu vaccine, of which 9.4 million had been youngsters, aged, and pregnant ladies, in accordance with the KDCA.
Ki Moran, a professor at South Korea’s Nationwide Most cancers Centre, mentioned the flu vaccine is understood to trigger severe uncomfortable side effects in a single out of 10 million individuals.
In 2019, 227,000 individuals over the age of 65 died in South Korea, she added. That is a median of 621 deaths a day, to place the current figures into perspective.
The KDCA selected Friday to not droop the flu vaccinations. The vaccination professional committee will maintain a gathering Saturday morning to evaluation extra information, in accordance with a KDCA assertion.
Uncommon uncomfortable side effects
The KDCA’s Friday assembly got here after rising scrutiny from consultants and politicians.
On Friday, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun known as for an intensive investigation into the deaths, citing public anxiousness, in accordance with a press launch by the Well being Ministry. He didn’t name for a halt to the vaccination marketing campaign.
The Korean Medical Affiliation, a coalition of 130,000 medical doctors, has urged the federal government to droop the vaccination program for per week till they decided the reason for the deaths.
In an announcement, the Korean Vaccine Society emphasised the significance of the flu vaccine, particularly “for youngsters, the aged, and sufferers with persistent ailments and low immune system.” The group cited issues concerning the potential unfold of flu throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consultants globally are making ready for flu season in the midst of the pandemic. “This can be a essential yr for us to attempt to take flu as a lot off the desk as we are able to,” mentioned Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, in an interview with the AMA’s JAMA Community.
One purpose is to lower the pressure on public well being providers and hospitals, that are bracing for a winter wave. Consultants say it potential to get Covid-19 and the flu concurrently — and, as a result of flu signs look so much like that of Covid-19, it is going to be unattainable to rule out a coronavirus prognosis with no take a look at. Which means a case of the flu could cause substantial disruption to work and faculty.
