South Korea flu shot deaths grow to 13, but officials refuse to suspend vaccination programme

Health authorities said they have found no direct links between the deaths, which include a 17-year-old boy, and the vaccines being given out for free

South Korea ordered more flu vaccines this year to ward off what it calls a ‘twindemic’ of people with flu developing potential Covid-19 complications

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A nurse gives a flu vaccination shot to a man earlier this month. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:36pm, 22 Oct 2020Updated: 2:42pm, 23 Oct 2020

South Korean officials refused to suspend the country’s seasonal flu inoculation programme on Thursday, despite growing calls to do so following the deaths of at least 13 people who were vaccinated in recent days.

Health authorities said they have found no direct links between the deaths, which include a 17-year-old boy, and the vaccines being given under a programme to inoculate some 19 million teenagers and senior citizens for free.

“The number of deaths has increased, but our team sees low possibility that the deaths resulted from the shots,” Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, told parliament.

South Korea ordered 20 per cent more flu vaccines this year to ward off what it calls a “twindemic” of people with flu developing potential Covid-19 complications, and overburdening hospitals over the winter.

A woman wearing a face mask walks past a sign detailing antivirus precautions at a park in Goyang, South Korea, earlier this month. Photo: AP

“I understand and regret that people are concerned about the vaccine,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said on Thursday, while confirming the free programme would go ahead.