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Review
. 2023 Mar;55(1):135-149.
doi: 10.3947/ic.2023.0023.

COVID-19 Vaccination in Korea

Wan Beom Park  1 , Young Hoon Hwang  1 , Hee Jin Cheong  2
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 Vaccination in Korea

Wan Beom Park et al. Infect Chemother. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Since December 2020, various coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines have been developed and approved. As of February 2023, mRNA vaccines including bivalent vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna), recombinant protein vaccines (Novavax, SK Bioscience), and viral vector vaccines (AstraZeneca, Janssen) have been approved in Korea. COVID-19 vaccination can effectively reduce hospitalization and deaths due to symptomatic COVID-19, especially severe and critical COVID-19. The primary series vaccination against COVID-19 is recommended for all adults aged ≥18 years in Korea. Booster vaccination with the bivalent mRNA vaccine is available for those ≥12 years who have completed the primary series vaccination, regardless of the type of vaccine previously received, and is recommended for all adults. Booster vaccination can be administered since 90 days after the last dose. Localized and systemic adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination are relatively common and more frequently documented in younger age groups. Rare but potentially serious specialized adverse reactions include anaphylaxis, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, myocarditis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Previous severe allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis, to any COVID19 vaccine or vaccine component are considered a contraindication for vaccination. The indications and schedule for COVID-19 vaccination are subject to change based on further research results and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

WBP is associate editor and HJC is editorial board of Infect Chemother; however, they did not involve in the peer reviewer selection, evaluation, and decision process of this article. Otherwise, no potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Vaccination schedule for commercially available COVID-19 vaccines in Korea.
It is advised that the primary vaccine series be completed with the same vaccine. However, if the vaccine used for the first primary vaccination is unavailable, the second vaccination is administered using a readily available vaccine. Booster dose should be administered with a bivalent mRNA vaccine regardless of the type of vaccine previously received, starting from 90 days after the last dose of vaccination. In exceptional cases where mRNA vaccination is contraindicated or not desired, recombinant vaccines (NVX-CoV2373, GBP510)) can be administered. aAlthough the second dose of the primary series can be administered at any time after the minimum interval, there is research suggesting that an 8-week interval between doses of BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, and NVX-CoV2373 reduces the risk of vaccine-associated myocarditis and pericarditis in individuals aged 6 months to 64 years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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