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| A medical worker prepares to give a shot of COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Gwangju, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Bahk Eun-ji
Whether or not to increase the number of doses per vial for COVID-19 vaccines with a new type of syringe has caused confusion for medical workers, as the authorities have been taking an ambiguous stance on its use.
Critics say the government has caused confusion while trying to promote the domestically developed syringe as one of Korea's many unique responses to the pandemic.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Tuesday, discussions are to be held with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the issue of using a low dead space (LDS) syringe, which minimizes the dead space between the hub and the needle.
There are two coronavirus vaccines currently in use in Korea ― manufactured by AstraZeneca and Pfizer. The AstraZeneca vaccine can be administered to 10 people per vial, and the Pfizer one to six people per vial, but if an LDS syringe is used, the number of vaccine shots per vial can be increased to up to 12 and seven, respectively.
The controversy began on Feb. 27 when the KDCA sent an official guideline to vaccine centers nationwide, suggesting increasing the doses per vial, which would mean that more people can be vaccinated sooner than originally planned. But it later showed an ambiguous stance by saying it had not officially reviewed the matter.
Medical experts point out that the remaining amount of vaccine per vial is different depending on each medical worker's skill.
Even if it is not necessary to stretch the doses to seven injections, the government's guidance to make use of any remaining contents will itself affect medical workers at vaccination centers.
"There is no scale mark on the vial, so you must carefully visually check to see if the residual amount is enough for an additional shot," said Eom Jung-sik, professor of infectious medicine at Gachon University's Gil Hospital.
It was also pointed out that the uncertainty was too great to calculate the vaccine amount. This is because the Pfizer vaccine, which is kept frozen, must be thawed the night before vaccination in the correct amount according to the number of pre-booked persons.
"If the additional administration is confirmed, it will become a burden for skillful medical workers, and their workload will increase," said Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital, Seoul.
"There are also concerns that some might intentionally add more saline to increase the number of doses. So if the government wants to use the remaining amount of vaccine, it has to conduct testing and carry this out based on scientific evidence first."
