|
 Health authorities see pregnant mothers as key to the campaign and
sought to drum up participation through public notices and news
conferences saying they have a greater possibility of serious
illness and death if infected with COVID-19.
Pregnant women are eligible to sign up for a shot starting Friday,
for inoculation set to begin on Oct. 18 using Pfizer or Moderna
vaccines, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention
Agency (KDCA).
"The vaccines are safe for pregnant women and can meaningfully
decrease their risks of contracting COVID-19 and becoming critically
ill," KDCA director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a public briefing on
Monday.
Of the 731 pregnant women infected with the virus in South Korea as
of August, about 2% of them developed serious illnesses, more than
six times that of women aged 20-45, according to the KDCA.
But officials have advised people with shorter than 12 weeks
pregnancy to consult medical staff before getting a shot.
Some 54.5 of the country's 52 million population and around 63% of
adults were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, and authorities aim to
complete vaccination for 80% of all adults by the end of October.
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 The government plans to begin
vaccinating children aged 12-17 next month, and
providing booster shots for people aged 75 or
older and other priority groups next week,
including those who live or work at nursing
homes and care facilities.
Authorities are also mapping out a plan on how
to live more normally with COVID-19 https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skorea-planning-live-more-normally-with-covid-19-after-october-2021-09-08,
to be implemented in phases starting later this
month to gradually ease distancing rules and
restrictions, though masks will still be
mandatory at least in the initial stages.
The KDCA reported 2,028 cases for Tuesday, as
the numbers resurged after the Korean
thanksgiving Chuseok holidays.
But the ongoing wave has seen far fewer serious
infections than earlier outbreaks, with many
older and more vulnerable people having received
vaccines.
Critical cases hovered around 350, and total
infections rose to 323,379, with 2,536 deaths.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Raju
Gopalakrishnan)
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