People wait to receive a COVID-19 test at a screening center set up for overseas travelers at Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. Yonhap

Government lowers age eligibility of 4th vaccine dose to 50

By Lee Hyo-jin

The government on Wednesday announced a set of quarantine measures in an effort to respond to the resurgence of infections driven by the highly contagious BA.5 subvariant of Omicron, which is soon expected to become the dominant strain here.

These were the first pandemic-related measures introduced by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, which has vowed to carry out quarantine policies based on scientific data.

Medical experts, however, had doubts about whether the measures would be effective in curbing the new wave of infections, which may lead to as many as 200,000 daily cases by mid-September.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) decided to lower the age of eligibility for a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 50, from the current 60. People with underlying diseases aged 18 and over have also become eligible for the second booster.

The government did not reinstate social distancing measures such as limits on the operating hours of multiuse facilities or the number of people at private gatherings, which were lifted in April.

"Considering the high transmissibility of the BA.5 strain, from the point of view of returning to normalcy, as well as in terms of public acceptance, we believe that social distancing measures, if reintroduced, would have limited effects in curbing the spread of the virus," said KDCA Commissioner Peck Kyeong-ran during a briefing.

"But we may review partially bringing back the distancing measures if the fatality rate rises," she added.

However, the newly-announced measures have raised eyebrows among some medical experts.

Chon Eun-mi, a respiratory disease specialist at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, viewed that lowering the age limit of the second booster was rather unnecessary.

"It is hard to understand why the government has expanded the fourth shot to people in their 50s when the fatality rate among that age group is near zero," she said.

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) chief Peck Kyong-ran speaks during a briefing on COVID-19 response measures at the agency's headquarters in Osong, North Chungcheong Province. Yonhap

According to the latest KDCA data, the figure stands at 0.04 percent, lower than that of the total population, which is 0.13 percent.

"Although vaccines have proven to be effective in preventing severe illnesses or deaths, they are not a panacea. During the BA.5 wave, anyone can get the virus, regardless of the person's vaccination status," she said, given that the BA.5 subvariant substantially evades antibodies created by the currently available vaccines or by infection.

Chon went on to say that, right now, the government should more actively use antiviral treatments to prevent vulnerable groups from falling into critical condition, rather than counting on the available vaccines to protect them.

"Instead of expanding the age eligibility for the fourth dose, the authorities should have introduced measures to increase the inoculation rate among the elderly aged over 60, who account for over 90 percent of critical cases and deaths," said Kim Woo-joo, an infectious disease specialist at Korea University Guro Hospital.

He also stressed the need to ramp up testing capacity, which has been greatly reduced since February, when the government limited free PCR tests only to those in the vulnerable group.

"Moreover, the absence of a health minister still remains a big problem in carrying out flexible pandemic response measures," Kim said.

The new measures came as the country reported 40,266 daily new cases for Tuesday, reaching a two-month high. The cumulative number of infections stood at 18,602,109.

In the worst-case scenario, the number of daily infections could surge to up to 200,000 by mid-September, with up to 1,450 critically ill patients and 150 COVID-19-related fatalities, according to the KDCA.