Vaccination rate among elderly and children amid flu epidemic is 'half'... “Please get vaccinated”

45.8% of seniors aged 65 years or older and 43.7% of children received the flu vaccine

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jan-di = Although the influenza (flu) epidemic continues, only about half of the elderly and children over 65 years of age who are eligible for national vaccination have completed the flu vaccine.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 19th, as of the 16th, the flu vaccination rate among seniors over 65 years old was 45.8% and the COVID-19 vaccination rate was 22.1%.

The flu vaccine vaccination rate among children was 43.7%, higher than 27.7% in the same period last year.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency is conducting national flu vaccinations for children aged 6 months to 14 years, pregnant women, and seniors aged 65 years or older. Seniors over 65 years of age can receive both the flu and COVID-19 vaccines.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said that although the number of suspected flu patients has decreased slightly as a result of sample surveillance, it is still prevalent and urged children and the elderly to get vaccinated quickly.

As of the 41st week of this year, from the 4th to the 10th of this month, the number of suspected flu patients per 1,000 outpatients at clinic-level medical institutions is 21.6. This is still high compared to 14.4 people in the same period last year.

The proportion of suspected patients over the past four weeks was 32.3 at 38 weeks, 33.0 at 39 weeks, 23.6 at 40 weeks, and 21.6 at 41 weeks.

An official from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said, "Although both suspected flu cases and newly hospitalized patients have decreased, now that we are entering the full-fledged fall season, the daily temperature range is increasing, making it a good situation for respiratory infectious diseases to spread."