SEOUL, South Korea (PNN) - October 21, 2020 - Nine people have died after getting flu shots in South Korea in the past week, raising concerns over the vaccine’s safety just as the seasonal inoculation program is expanded to head off potential COVID-19 complications.
Five new deaths were reported on October 21 alone, but authorities had no plans to suspend the vaccination program, unless investigations, including post mortems, revealed a link, which preliminary findings had not.
“We have reviewed whether it is appropriate to continue the vaccination (program) or better to suspend and wait for the results,” health official Kim Joong-gon told a briefing.
“We came to the conclusion that the deaths had no direct relations with the vaccination given the limited data we have now and without detailed post mortem reports.“
Kim said a preliminary investigation into six victims revealed five had underlying conditions.
“It makes it hard for us to put out a categorical statement,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told a briefing on Wednesday about the deaths, which include a 17-year-old boy and a man in his 70s.