The South Korean government is pushing for kids aged 5 to 11 to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as schools gear up for the new semester.
Kwon Geun-yong, head of the vaccination management team at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said Tuesday an inoculation plan will be drawn up as soon as vaccines are authorized for use in young children by the drug safety ministry.
Speaking on TBS FM's "Kim Ou-joon's News Factory," Kwon said it's likely children 11 and under will begin receiving shots after the start of the spring semester in March.
"The incidence rate per 100,000 teenagers is 4,000, and 3,600 for those aged 0-9, which is higher than that of adults and the elderly," he said.
Currently, youths between 12 and 17 in South Korea choose to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
On Monday, the Ministry of Education said it was considering requiring kindergarten and elementary school students to take rapid COVID-19 tests at home before going to school in a measure to protect children amid the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron COVID-19 variant.
