Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Peck Kyong-ran receives an updated vaccine developed by Pfizer at a hospital in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Nov. 14. Yonhap

By Lee Hyo-jin

Starting Monday, people who receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine will be offered free tickets to traditional palaces as an incentive offered by the government to individuals getting a booster shot ahead of a possible surge in infections this winter.

More than one month has passed since the government rolled out the bivalent vaccines targeting Omicron subvariants, but a mere 5.4 percent of eligible recipients have been inoculated as of Friday.

The country is bracing for a surge in infections this winter, with the number of daily cases hovering at around 50,000 in recent days. The government predicts the figure to reach as high as 200,000 in the coming weeks.

Against this backdrop, health authorities have decided to implement a "carrot and stick" approach to encourage people to roll up their sleeves for a bivalent vaccine dose that offers protection against BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has designated a four-week special period for the administration of bivalent vaccines from Monday through Dec. 18, aiming to reach a 50-percent inoculation rate among the elderly population aged 60 and over.

During that period, hospitals will offer walk-in vaccinations, and individuals who receive the bivalent dose will get discounts to templestay programs and free tickets to traditional palaces and gardens. Local governments of regions with high vaccination rates will be offered rewards and subsidies.

Meanwhile, residents of long-term care facilities who have not received a bivalent booster dose will be banned from going outside. The single booster dose can be administered four months after completing a primary vaccination or infection, according to the KDCA.

The KDCA added that high-ranking government officials, such as ministers and local government heads, will soon receive the doses to encourage people to follow suit.

But it remains to be seen whether these measures will be effective in increasing the vaccination rate. A recent survey conducted by Hangil research on 1,000 adults aged 18 and above found that 65 percent of the respondents did not trust the safety of the bivalent vaccine.

As for reasons why, when allowed multiple answers, they said, the vaccines don't seem to offer proper protection from the virus (34 percent), they were concerned about possible side effects (28 percent), they were worried about getting too many COVID-19 vaccines (22 percent) and felt it was not necessary to get a vaccine after prior infection (21 percent).