Fears Mount as South Korea Probes Cause Behind 36 People’s Deaths After Flu Vaccination
Public concern over the safety of flu shots has grown in South Korea as the authorities reported 36 cases of deaths after vaccination as at 1pm on Friday (Oct 23), putting strain on their efforts to curb a potential “twindemic” of winter flu and the coronavirus.
The country is still grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, reporting 155 Covid-19 cases on Friday – the highest since Sept 11 and the second day in a row that the number hit triple figures. This brings the total to 25,698.
Health authorities now also have to tackle a deepening fear of the state-administered free flu vaccine programme after two batches of vaccine were found faulty since last month.
South Korea hopes to inoculate some 19 million people for free, especially vulnerable groups such as young children and the elderly, ahead of the annual flu season starting in November when temperatures drop.
No causal link has been found yet between the flu shots and the fatalities so far, and investigations are underway to determine the exact cause of the deaths. (Read more from “Fears Mount as South Korea Probes Cause Behind 36 People’s Deaths After Flu Vaccination” HERE)
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