Seoul (Times Of Ocean)- South Korean interior minister Jeon Hae-cheo announced on Monday Seoul will begin vaccinating children aged 5-11 against COVID19 from March 31.
“The government will carry out vaccination for young children aged between 5-11, who have been excluded from inoculation, from late March,” Yonhap News Agency quoted Jeon Hae-cheo as saying.
The minister declares safety of COVID19 vaccines for children has been sufficiently proven abroad, stating that vaccination for the age group will be carried out at 1,200 clinics nationwide.
“The use of Pfizer vaccine for the age group was approved last month ahead of the reopening of schools for the new spring semester in early March.”
3.07 million children will be eligible to receive vaccinations under the plan, according to the Education Ministry.
Over 5.4 million #Coronavirus cases and 3,432 deaths have been recorded in the past 27 days in South Korea since the presidential election campaign commenced on Feb. 15. On March 12, a record number of 383,651 cases were confirmed.
According to the government’s #COVID19 portal, the country reported 309,790 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to over 6.86 million. The death toll rose to 10,595 with 200 more deaths.
The omicron wave will reach its peak this week, the minister said.
Among the 52 million residents, 32.1 million, or 62.6%, have received booster shots, whereas 44.43 million, or 86.6%, have been fully immunized.