수요일 신규 확진자, 3천명 웃돌듯... 비상계획, 부스터샷 기간 단축 결정 금일 (17일) 발표
South Korea may see more than 3-thousand cases Wednesday morning, the second highest figure since the start of the pandemic.
Also on Wednesday health authorities will announce emergency plans and changes to the booster shot campaign to address the climb in infections and critical cases.
Now to fill us in with more COVID-19 related updates, we have our reporter Yeon-seung in the studio. Good morning, Yeon-seung
Good morning
So start us off with the numbers.
Can you break down the latest tally for us?
South Korea saw quite the jump in its COVID tally last night.
Up until 9 PM Tuesday, authorities tracked more than 28-hundred new COVID-19 infections.
This is actually the highest late-night tally reported since September.
There's a high chance that Wednesday morning's official caseload will rise above 3-thousand,... the second time that the official tally has hit that 3-thousand mark since the onset of the pandemic.
Infections in the Seoul capital region made up almost 85 percent of the cases recorded on Tuesday night,.. with Seoul city's cases marking a new record high,... 1-thousand -380 infections in less than 24 hours.
You also said yesterday that the capital region's healthcare sector is close to reaching the point of full saturation.
How are we doing in terms of critical cases?
The rise in critical cases is also an impending problem.
Health authorities had mentioned earlier that one of the warning signs showing the nation's healthcare system is reaching dangerous levels is if there were more than 500 critical patients, and it seems like the country is edging closer to that point.
On Tuesday,... 495 patients were reported to be in a critical condition, which also marks a new record.
Authorities are devising an emergency plan to address the steps they will take if the current situation escalates.
This plan will be announced this afternoon.
They've postponed this announcement a few times now,... but in the event that they don't shift the dates again, I'll be able to give an update on the plan during tomorrow morning's newscast, so stay tuned.
Right,... I heard another announcement is to be expected today?
Yes, on Wednesday,.. health authorities will announce their final decision on shortening the interval... between primary and booster vaccine doses.
They're hoping to tackle the growing number of severe infections among the elderly and those with fading immunity.
"While there are only 8 percent of people in their sixties and over who are not fully vaccinated,... they made up 61-point-7 percent of the total 452 deaths from October 3rd to November 6th. "
In other words, unvaccinated people in higher age groups only make up around 3 percent of the country's population, but more than sixty percent of the COVID-19 related deaths.
Currently,.. the booster shot campaign recommends most recipients get their top up shots six months after being fully vaccinated... but the new plan will most likely recommend people in their sixties and over get their extra jab at least 4 months later and people in their fifties to get theirs at least five months after full inoculation.
Now let's move outside South Korean borders for a bit.
Any news on the latest in COVID-19 treatments?
Pfizer has signed a deal that will allow generic versions of their COVID-19 oral pills,.. named Paxlovid, to be licensed to 95 low to middle income countries.
Although the drug has not yet been distributed to the public,... it has shown promising results in clinical trials and is seen as potential game changers.
The company is hoping that this drug will play a critical role in crushing the pandemic and saving lives in those lower income countries... where more than half of the world's population live.
The drug is expected to be priced at around 700 U.S. dollars, but in lower income countries,... that price tag will most likely be brought down.
Pfizer's move, however, has been met with some criticism that some of the hardest-hit countries,.. like Russia, Turkey, and Brazil, are not included in the deal.
Thank you for that report.
We hope to see you tomorrow morning with more updates.
#COVID19 #booster_shot #health_authorities
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2021-11-17, 08:00 (KST)
