The country reported a record 54,122 new coronavirus cases
on Thursday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, a
12-fold increase from daily levels seen in mid-January, when omicron first
became the country’s dominant strain.
But officials are expressing cautious hope that the
country’s high vaccination rate will prevent an explosion in serious illnesses
and deaths. As of Thursday, 86% of South Koreans were fully vaccinated and 56%
had received booster shots under a mass immunization program that has been
mainly dependent on Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines.
Novavax’s protein vaccine, which is similar to shots used
for years against diseases such as the common flu and hepatitis B, could appeal
to people who are hesitant to use other COVID-19 vaccines designed with newer
technologies, KDCA official Lim Sook-young said.
The shots are produced by the Maryland company’s South
Korean partner, SK Bioscience, which has been contracted to manufacture 40
million doses, all of which will be used locally. Lim said SK delivered 551,000
doses on Thursday and will deliver another 294,000 doses on Friday.
“We plan to actively use the (Novavax) shots on unvaccinated
people 18 years or older, especially high-risk groups including hospitalized
patients, senior citizens and people with disabilities who are at larger risk
of serious illness and death,” Lim said during a briefing.
South Korea has significantly eased quarantine restrictions
and reshaped its COVID-19 response around at-home treatments and rapid antigen
testing as it struggles to deal with an unprecedented wave of infections fueled
by the fast-moving omicron variant.
The KDCA said 282 patients were in serious or critical
condition as of Thursday, but the Health Ministry said less than 20% of the
country’s intensive care units designated for COVID-19 treatment were occupied.
Still, experts say the country’s surging caseload is likely to drive up
hospitalizations in coming weeks.
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