[뉴스데스크]
◀ Anchor ▶
Since last month, free coronavirus vaccination has been provided to seniors over 65 years of age.
In some areas, there are cases where the elderly are in vain because there is no vaccine.
They say next year’s budget will be cut by 20% compared to this year.
Reporter Je Eun-hyo covered the story.
◀ Report ▶
A lawmaker from Songpa-gu, Seoul.
There is a notice at the reception desk saying that the COVID-19 vaccine has run out and vaccination is difficult.
[○○의원 (음성변조)] “Our hospital doesn’t have (the COVID-19 vaccine), so try another hospital. We’re out of medicine here.”
Another clinic nearby also ran out of vaccines, so they quickly secured enough supplies for 20 people, but in the meantime, the seniors had to go in vain.
[△△의원 (음성변조)] “
Last year, the government secured corona vaccines for 7.5 million people, but only 5.3 million people were actually vaccinated, so a significant amount was discarded, so this year, only 5.3 million people were prepared, in line with last year.
However, due to simultaneous flu vaccination and an increase in the elderly population, the vaccination rate has increased compared to last year.
The problem is next year.
The coronavirus vaccination rate is on the rise, exceeding last year again this year, and a similar trend is expected next year, as the budget has been cut by 20%.
Next year’s budget will only be able to vaccinate 42% of the elderly population, so compared to last year’s vaccination rate of 48%, this is 6 percentage points, or about 660,000 people may not be vaccinated.
[이재갑/한림대 감염내과 교수] “The winter epidemic has not been large in the past two years due to good vaccinations. It is possible that the epidemic will grow again. This is the most important part because it lowers the risk of death, but if the epidemic grows, the damage to the elderly will also be…”
Experts point out that the infectious disease response budget should not be perceived as waste, but as insurance for public safety.
This is Je Eun-hyo from MBC News.
Video coverage: Hwang Joo-yeon / Video editing: Kim Hyun-soo
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Video coverage: Hwang Joo-yeon / Video editing: Kim Hyun-soo
Reporter Je Eun-hyo (jenyo@mbc.co.kr)
Original article –