Seoul, Dec 10 Booster shots for South Korean adults can be administered three months after their primary vaccination, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on Friday, amid rising concerns over a surge in Covid-19 infections.
The decision to cut the dosage interval between primary vaccination and booster shots for people aged 18 or older was announced as the country's daily new coronavirus infections surpassed 7,000 for the third straight day amid worries about the omicron variant, while the number of serious cases showed no signs of letup, reports Yonhap News Agency.
"Our medical response capability is quickly burning out as daily cases remained in the 7,000s for a third day in row, with seniors aged 60 or older accounting for 35 percent of the cases," Kim said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
"Our top priority task is a swift inoculation of vaccines."
Last month, the authorities cut the dosage interval for booster shots from six months to four months for people aged 60 or older and five months for those in their 50s.
Kim also called for increasing the pace of vaccinations for teenagers, saying that the authorities plan to run inoculation programs at schools from next week.
The Prime Minister asked for people's cooperation in virus prevention and hinted that the government may further tighten social distancing rules in the near future if the situation does not improve.
The government already announced that the maximum number of people at private gatherings will be limited to six in the greater Seoul area and eight in other areas till January 2, 2022.
As of Friday, South Korea's Covid-19 caseload and death toll stood at 503,606 and 4,130, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
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