Photo: Yonhap News
[Anchor]
Concerns are mounting over the safety of seasonal flu shots in South Korea after the death of nine people who recently received vaccines.
The shots are important more than ever this year as health authorities are working to prevent a so-called twin-demic with the coronavirus.
Ron Chang reports.
[Reporter]
In an afternoon press briefing, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency chief Jung Eun-kyeong said they are continuing to look into causality between these deaths and the flu vaccines.
She stressed the situation is not serious enough to stop the state-led free flu shot program.
But Jung didn't rule out the possibility of an allergic reaction to the vaccine for two of the cases, and said autopsies will have to be carried out for the others.
There has been no clear evidence to show the deaths are linked to flu shots.
With the exception of the first death that was reported last week involving a teenage boy in Incheon, the remaining fatalities were seniors, most of them with underlying health conditions, from various cities around the country including Goyang, Daejeon and Daegu and the southern island of Jeju.
So far, more than 8.3 million people have gotten flu vaccinations.
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