Public concern over the safety of the flu vaccine has soared after 48 people have died
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SEOUL – South Korea (South Korea) urged its citizens to take flu vaccinations in an effort to reduce the possibility of an outbreak that coincides with the battle against the coronavirus. The government is currently initiating free inoculation of the last eligible cohort.
Public concern over the safety of the flu vaccine has surged after at least 48 people died this month following vaccinations. Meanwhile, last month, about five million doses had to be discarded after not being kept at the recommended temperature.
Authorities said they found no direct link between the deaths and the flu shot. They are trying to convince South Koreans about the safety of the flu vaccine, a disease that kills at least 3,000 people every year.
“Vaccinations offer far greater benefits than side effects, and both WHO and experts at home and abroad agree,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said at a briefing on Sunday, referring to the World Health Organization.
Last year, more than 1,500 elderly people died within seven days of receiving the flu vaccine. But the deaths were not related to vaccinations, the government said.
As South Korea resumes its injection, the small city-state in Southeast Asia, Singapore, became one of the first countries this week to temporarily halt the use of two influenza vaccines, as a precaution. Singapore reported no deaths related to flu vaccination.
South Korea ordered 20 percent more flu vaccines this year to ward off the possibility of what it calls a “twindemic” outbreak of the big flu and the coronavirus that co-occur in winter. At least 1,154 incidents of adverse reactions have been reported from the more than 9.4 million people inoculated since the attempt began in September.
source: Reuters
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