Pres. Moon calls for more flu vaccinations

President Moon Jae-in said on Monday that no direct link has been found between the recent deaths of dozens of people and the flu shots they had received, calling for the public’s trust in the conclusion and announcement made in consultation with health authorities and experts.

"This year, (South Korea) needs to further expand flu vaccinations to prevent the simultaneous infections and spread of flu and the coronavirus," the president said presiding a meeting with his cabinet members at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. “Excessive anxiety about the safety of flu vaccines may lead to missing the appropriate time for inoculation,” he added, citing the high fatality rate of the seasonal flu. This was the first comment President Moon made on deaths related to flu shots 10 days after the first death occurred on October 16.

Meanwhile, he also requested the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to play active roles with regards to the recent deaths. “Health authorities should quickly conduct tests and transparently disclose results, as well as provides information on South Korea’s last-year cases or foreign cases of deaths after flu shots, to ensure that the public does not feel unnecessary anxiety.”

Regarding the parliamentary inspection of the administration that ended on Monday, he expressed regrets about how it is still used as the field of political attacks. “Regardless of the parties, reasonable criticism and proposed alternatives will be accepted and reflected on the government policies.” The president also added, perhaps in awareness of the criticism that the government’s housing price statistics do not reflect the reality, that real transaction prices, which mirror the reality of real estate transactions, should be used to strengthen the public statistics on real estates, which serve as the foundation for real estate policies.


Hyung-Jun Hwang constant25@donga.com