PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.15 No.3, January 20, 2022 Article TypeEpidemiology and SurveillanceIssues on COVID-19 vaccinesNoncommunicable Disease Statistics

• Issues on COVID-19 vaccines 2022-01-20

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  Antibody persistence after the second dose of vaccine for COVID-19

  Hye-Jin Kim, Ju-Yeon Choi, Hye Won Lee, Young Jae Lee, Su-Hwan Kim, Ah-Ra Kim, Eun Joo Chung, Hyeon-Nam Do, Hyeonji Jeong, Youngseok OH, Sang-kyu Choi, Tae-Yong Kim, Gi-Beom Ahn, Yeong-Gyeong Jang, Min-Seok kim, Hyo-Jeong Hong, Eun-Young Jang, June-Woo Lee, Byoungguk Kim

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(3): 152-156

  

  

  Abstract

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  The first confirmed case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Republic of Korea (ROK) was reported on January 20, 2020. Since then, the number of COVID-19 cases has continuously increased, reaching a total of 477,358 cases at 00:00 on December 6, 2021. The COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the ROK are AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. This study analyzed antibody production and persistence in vaccine recipients by investigating the immunogenicity of each COVID-19 vaccine used in the ROK.
  Neutralizing antibody titers in healthy adults aged 20-59 years who received either homologous (AstraZeneca [100 participants], Pfizer [100 participants], Moderna [100 participants], Janssen [50 participants]) or heterologous (99 participants) vaccination were examined and compared considering each vaccine schedule. Neutralizing capacity against delta virus and adverse events were also investigated.
  After vaccination, all participants developed neutralizing antibodies, and neutralizing antibody titers reached their maximum values 2-4 weeks after administration of the second dose. Antibody titers following AstraZeneca vaccination and heterologous vaccination were 146 and 326, respectively, 3 months after the second dose. Following Pfizer vaccination, the neutralizing antibody titer was 233, 5 months after the second dose, and following Moderna vaccination, the antibody titer was 2,012, 2 months after the second dose. A decline in neutralizing antibody titer was observed over time.
  To establish a national long-term COVID-19 vaccination plan, it is planned to continuously present laboratory-based scientific evidence by conducting long-term follow-up studies on immune response and antibody persistence after vaccination.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-01-20

  0 699 203

  Current status of proposed amendments and amendment to the Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention Act during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea

  Kyung Sook Cho

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(3): 159-171

  

  

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  The demand for amendments to the Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention Act (IDCP Act) has been increased due to the recent Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The purpose of this study was to investigate proposed amendments and amendments to the IDCP Act with the aim of identifying legislative trends during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea. The frequency of proposed amendments to the IDCP Act included 82 cases in 2020 and 87 cases in 2021. The frequency of demands for amendments was found to be 8.2 times higher than the average for the previous four years (10.3 cases between 2015 and 2019). Also, the number of amendment to the IDCP Act were four cases and three cases, respectively in 2020 and 2021. This was 3.5 times higher than the average for the previous 4 years (1.0 cases between 2015 and 2019). This study suggested that policy makers focus their efforts on strategies for preparing for future epidemics of infectious diseases by supplementing the legal deficiencies revealed in the coping with COVID-19 pandemic.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-01-20

  0 560 168

  Preventive responses to avian influenza (AI) infection in human in the Republic of Korea, 2020-2021

  Soon Jong Bae, Ji Hae Hwang, Jung Yeon Kim, Jin Gwack

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(3): 172-177

  

  

  Abstract

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  During 2020-2021, 109 poultry cases infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza A/H5N8 virus were confirmed in 10 cities/provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). 297 dead wild birds or fecal specimens infected with low pathogenic H5 or H7 avian influenza (AI) virus were isolated/detected in 13 cities/provinces. No AI human infections have been reported in the ROK so far. A total of 19,679 workers dispatched to AI outbreak farms in the ROK, who were classified as a high-risk group, including culling workers, poultry workers, and response personnel, were provided with these preemptive preventive measures: training for protective behaviors and safe disposal, prophylaxis with anti-viral drugs, and administration with seasonal influenza vaccine. Furthermore, 19,679 preliminary reserved workers for the disposal of AI-infected poultry in the ROK were trained with the preventive education as well as administration of seasonal influenza vaccine. The Division of Emerging Infectious Disease Response within the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) strives for enhancing the vigilant surveillance against the incidence of AI infection in human as well as strengthening multi-sectorial collaboration for more efficient responses in accordance with the government’s ‘One Health’ approach.

• Noncommunicable Disease Statistics 2022-01-20

  0 2490 386

  Trends in the percentage of Korean people who eat out more than once a day, 2011-2020

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(3): 178-179

  

  

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