PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.15 No.4, January 27, 2022 Article TypeEpidemiology and SurveillanceIssues on COVID-19 vaccinesNoncommunicable Disease Statistics

• Issues on COVID-19 vaccines 2022-01-27

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  Adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents aged 12-17 years

  Seontae Kim, Insob Hwang, Mijeong Ko, Hyungjun Kim, Kyeongeun Park, Sangyun Cho, Yeon-Kyeng Lee, Yunhyung Kwon

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(4): 217-224

  

  

  Abstract

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  In the Republic of Korea (ROK), adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years first started to be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine on October 19, 2021. Considering that unexpected adverse events (AEs) may occur after vaccination and to identify AEs at an early stage after vaccination, an AEs reporting system based on the Korea Immunization Management System (KIMS) and monitoring through text message questionnaires were implemented.
  Following our previous report, “Adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents aged 16–17 years”, we analyzed the data of AEs reported between October 18, 2021, and November 20, 2021, for adolescents, including those aged 12–15 years who received the first vaccine dose and the results of a survey regarding AEs and health status on the initial vaccination day and up to 7 days after vaccination.
  During this period, 2,834 AEs were reported through KIMS and the reported rate was 0.26% compared to the number of doses administered. The reported rates by age group were 0.16% in aged 12–15 years and 0.34% in aged 16–17 years. Among reported AEs, non-serious AEs such as headache, chest pain, dizziness, and myalgia accounted for 97.78% of cases, while serious AEs such as suspected anaphylaxis and major AEs accounted for 2.22% of cases. A total of 11,601 adolescents responded to the text message questionnaire, among whom 53.93% of 12–15-year-olds reported at least one health problem or AE from 0 to 7 days after the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The response rate was slightly higher in adolescents aged 16–17 years at 57.56%. Systemic AEs were reported by 44.12% of 12–15 years old and 50.42% of 16–17 years old. The types of AEs were injection site pain, myalgia, fatigue/tiredness, and headache.
  This study is an initial analysis of AEs after the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adolescents aged 12–17 years in the ROK. In order to promote a safe COVID-19 vaccination program, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) will continue to monitor AEs and share the information with relevant committees and experts.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-01-27

  0 674 275

  One-Year Report of COVID-19 Outbreak in the Republic of Korea, January-Decemeber 2021

  Jinhwa Jang, Shin Young Park, Seon Hee Ahn, Sungchan Yang, Seong-Sun Kim, Su Bin Park, Boyeong Ryu, Seon-Yeong Lee, Eunjeong Shin, Na-Young Kim, Myeongsu Yoo, Jonggul Lee, Taeyoung Kim, Ae Ri Kang, Donghyok Kwon

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(4): 225-234

  

  

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  The aim of this report was to provide a one-year analysis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) confirmed cases reported through the integrated system in accordance with Article 11 of the 「Infectious Disease Prevention and Management Act」 and to report the results of epidemiological investigations conducted by central and local health authorities from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. This report found that there were a total of 635,253 COVID-19 confirmed cases, including 17,446 imported cases from January 20, 2020, to January 1, 2022. Of the total number of cases, the number of confirmed cases from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 was 570,111, accounting for 89.7% of the cumulative number of confirmed cases over the entire period. Among the total number of cases, 412,034 (72.2%) occurred in metropolitan areas and 153,764 in non-metropolitan areas. In addition, there were 4,663 death cases and the fatality rate was 0.82%. Among the confirmed cases, foreigners were 54,342 (9.5%). The main routes of infection were contact with confirmed cases (256,911, 45.1%), cases under investigation (179,222, 31.4%), cluster outbreaks, for example, in hospitals and nursing homes (121,800, 21.4%), imported cases (11,961, 2.1 %) and cases linked to imported cases (217, 0.03%). Furthermore, due to the continuous emergence of new variant viruses, it was difficult to control the spread of COVID-19 despite the public's observance of quarantine rules, social distancing, and vaccination. Accordingly, this report recommended that central and local health authorities continue to monitor the epidemics and modify quarantine protocols and medical response strategies.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-01-27

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  Epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 reinfection cases in the Republic of Korea

  Seong Jin Wang, Jin Soo Lim, Sang Eun Lee, Young Joon Park, Jungyeon Kim, Jin Gwack

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(4): 235-244

  

  

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  This case-control study monitored the epidemiological characteristics of reinfection cases since the beginning of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the Republic of Korea. By November 30, 2021, 142 COVID-19 suspected reinfection cases were reported. Findings indicated that the reinfection was an uncommon event (0.031%). The average age of reinfected patients was 37.1 years, and the mean time from primary to reinfection was 120 days. This study found that 66.7% of the reinfection cases were asymptomatic and that they occured more frequently in the capital region (i.e. Seoul) (75.3%). Critical illness happened in 2.1% of the total reinfection cases.
  The reinfection outbreak during the Delta dominant period (Group 1) was six times greater than the Alpha and Beta dominant period (Group 2) (P<0.001), accounting for the high transmissibility of the Delta variant. No statistical differences in age group, sex, and symptoms were observed between the two groups (P=0.2698, P=0.5565, P=0.7574, respectively). Upon the Kaplan-Meier survival curve, the overall median survival time was 104 days (95% CI=96-114 days). The median survival time for each group was 120 days and 102 days, respectively.
  Among the 156,961 confirmed cases infected with SARS-CoV-2 from January 2020 to June 2021, the vaccination status of those reinfected during July-November 2021 was compared with that of residents who were not reinfected. The full and partial vaccinated groups were associated with 0.34 times the odds of reinfection compared with the unvaccinated group. These findings suggested that at least partial vaccination should be provided for all eligible persons, to reduce the risk of future infection.
  As of December 2021, there were growing concerns about the COVID-19 reinfections due to the COVID-19 variant of concern Omicron outbreak. Thus, continuous monitoring and risk assessment studies are necessary to prevent ongoing COVID-19 reinfection cases.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-01-27

  0 729 282

  Status of Bartonellosis diagnosis Using Antibody Detection Test in the Republic of Korea, 2020

  Wooju Kang, Byoungchul Gill, Junyoung Kim, Jaeil Yoo

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(4): 245-254

  

  

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  Bartonellosis is a zoonotic disease spreading through vector infected bartonella spp, and the representative pathogens for human infection are Bartonella henselae and B. quintana. In the Republic of Korea (ROK), it has reported since 2005. Recently increasing population raising pets (cat, etc) worldwide bartonellosis is issued a main zoonotic disease.
  Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has diagnosised patients with symptoms such as unknown-fever, lymphadenitis, encephalitis, neuritis, endocarditis, and so on, to confirm about infection of two bartonella pathogens by indirect immunofluorescence assay. Among total patients (419 cases) in 2020, 14 cases (3.3%) showed the infection of bartonella in ROK. Among 14 cases, 5 cases (35.7%) are B. henselae, 3 cases (21.4%) are B. quintana, and 6 cases (4.29%) are coinfection with B. hensealse and B. quintana. The coinfection with two pathogens is occupied a large part by serological test. The bartonella-infected patients are founded in the first half of year except for 2 cases, 2020. In addition, although there was no significant difference by age in bartonella-suspected patients, 50% of patients infected with bartonella were in their 60s or older.
  This article is meaningful in confirming the distribution of domestic bartonellosis patients for controlling zoonotic diseases, and it is expected that this result can be used as basic data for national infectious disease management.

• Epidemiology and Surveillance 2022-01-27

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  A community-based study of severe trauma, death and disability, 2019

  Jiyeon Jo, Young Soon Hwang, Sanghui Kweon

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(4): 255-264

  

  

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  Worldwide, unintentional injury is a leading cause of death and a major health problem. The aim of this study was to present the current (2019) status of severe trauma, death and disability by analyzing 2019 community-based severe trauma survey data. This study conducted an all-inclusive survey of all severe traumas, non-traumatic severe injuries and disasters transported by 119 emergency medical services in 2018. The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) was used to grade the severity of trauma. As per the injury mechanism determined by the date on the final medical record, there were 9,115 severe traumas, 13,160 non-traumatic severe injuries, and 6,837 disasters. Of the cases transferred by 119 emergency medical services to primary medical institutions, 5,192 cases were transferred from the emergency room to other hospitals, of which 4,653 cases were closed when the patient medical record surveys were completed between transfers. In addition to case transferals, patient recovery and disability rates were analyzed. The primary finding was that; by incidence, the rate of severe trauma was 17.8 per 100,000 people in 2019; by sex, 73.5% of the trauma occurred in men; and by age, 20.9% occurred in people in their 50s, 20.1% in people in their 60s, and 15.1% in people in their 70s. The study also found that most of the injury mechanisms were either transport accidents (54.9%) or slips and falls (37.5%). Furthermore, the fatality rate of severe trauma patients was 52.2%, and the fatality rate by injury mechanism (traffic, slips and falls, blunt force, penetrating, machine) was highest in the machine category 55.1%. Of the 4,357 survivors of severe trauma, 38.5% recovered to the extent that they could return to daily life, 37.1% were left with a moderate to severe disability disorder, and 35.6% of the disabled patients remained in a vegetative state wherein daily life became impossible. Community-based severe trauma investigations, such as the one conducted in this study, provide basic data for improving the survival rate of severe trauma by calculating the results for each region and by evaluating the type of emergency medical institution.

• Noncommunicable Disease Statistics 2022-01-27

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  The Ratio of Nutrient Intake to Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) by Nutrient, 2020

  Public Health Weekly Report 2022; 15(4): 265-266

  

  

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