Suwon to Begin COVID-19 Vaccinations on the 26th...19,135 from Care Facilities to Receive Priority Inoculations

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Ahead of COVID-19 vaccination prevention shots beginning on the 26th, Suwon City presented detailed vaccination plans on the 25th. A total of 19,135 'priority vaccination recipients' from care facilities will receive the vaccine first.

Cho Cheong-sik, First Vice Mayor of Suwon City, announced the vaccination plan through an online press conference held at City Hall on that day.

According to Vice Mayor Cho, the total vaccination target in Suwon City is 997,267 citizens aged 18 and above. To achieve herd immunity, 830,000 people, which is 70% of the entire registered population of 1,185,741 in Suwon City, must be vaccinated. This means that 83% or more of the total vaccination target recipients must receive the vaccine.

Vaccinations will begin on the 26th for 'priority vaccination recipients' including those from infection-vulnerable facilities such as long-term care hospitals, first-responders to COVID-19, and medical staff at COVID-19 patient treatment hospitals and general hospitals.

A total of 19,135 people are included. AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered to 4,379 hospitalized patients under 65 years old and staff at 28 long-term care hospitals and psychiatric medical institutions, 1,968 residents under 65 years old and staff at 74 care facilities and psychiatric rehabilitation facilities, 11,515 staff at 47 hospitals including Ajou University Hospital, and 723 first-responders to COVID-19 including epidemiological investigators and 119 ambulance personnel.

Pfizer vaccine will be administered to 550 medical personnel at Ajou University Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital, and Gyeonggi Province Medical Center Suwon Hospital, which are directly treating COVID-19 patients.

In the second quarter, medical staff at severe disability facilities, nursing homes, disability facilities, homeless shelters, and medical institutions including clinics, dental clinics, oriental medicine clinics, and pharmacies will receive vaccinations. Suwon City anticipates that if vaccination for citizens aged 65 and above is conducted during the second quarter, the number of vaccination targets in Suwon City during the second quarter will reach approximately 130,000.

Full-scale vaccinations for general citizens aged 18-64 will begin in July. Pregnant women and citizens under 18, who are excluded from vaccination, will have their vaccination status decided based on subsequent clinical results.

Vaccinations will be administered at vaccination centers and commissioned medical institutions. The city plans to establish one vaccination center in each of the four districts. The first vaccination center has been established at Ajou University Gymnasium, with operations to commence after mid-March. Commissioned medical institutions, centered on private clinics, have secured a total of 379 locations to date: 98 in Jangan-gu, 105 in Gwonseon-gu, 76 in Paldal-gu, and 100 in Yeongtong-gu.

Vaccination centers will administer Moderna and Pfizer vaccines using the 'messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)' method, while commissioned medical institutions will administer AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines using the 'viral vector' method.

Additionally, dedicated teams to manage adverse reactions have been organized at the four district health centers. Preparations are underway to establish a hotline between the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and Suwon City in advance of potential severe adverse reactions.

First Vice Mayor Cho stated, "'COVID-19 vaccination' goes beyond preventing individual infections, and is a process of building 'herd immunity' to help everyone reclaim their precious daily lives," and urged, "For a 'return to ordinary everyday life,' please make sure to receive your vaccination when your turn comes in accordance with the government's vaccination plan."

Meanwhile, on the 25th morning, the first batch of vaccines for 3,100 people was delivered to five long-term care hospitals and four health centers in Suwon under the escort of special forces personnel and police protection from local police stations. On the 26th, vaccines for 4,500 people are scheduled to be delivered to 23 long-term care hospitals.