Covid-19 in Korea could spike in late August as vacations end, health authorities warn

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Covid-19 in Korea could spike in late August as vacations end, health authorities warn

Published: 13 Aug. 2024, 18:44

SEO JI-EUN
seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr

A children's hospital in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, is crowded with patients waiting for treatment on Tuesday. As Covid-19 reinfections rise nationwide, some areas are seeing a significant increase in child patients. [YONHAP]

The rapid spread of Covid-19 in Korea could peak in late August, coinciding with the end of summer vacations, health authorities warned on Tuesday.

"When people start gathering again after the holidays, this behavior change could influence the spread of infectious diseases," Hong Jeong-il, director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Risk Response at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said during a radio interview on Tuesday.

"The prevalence of enclosed spaces due to air conditioning is also a significant factor contributing to the summer surge in infections," he added.

Despite the concerns, the current dominant variant, KP.3 — an Omicron lineage — does not appear to have a high severity or fatality rate to warrant elevating the national crisis level.

"Most young people can manage their symptoms with rest and over-the-counter cold medicine, similar to other respiratory infections," Hong advised. "For high-risk groups, we strongly recommend the active prescription of treatment."

The number of Covid-19 hospitalizations has been on the rise since late June, after steadily declining from February, according to the KDCA data. In the first week of August, 861 patients were hospitalized, a jump from the 148 cases reported in the second week of July, 226 in the third week and 475 in the fourth week — reaching levels last seen in February.

Of the 12,410 hospitalized patients, 65.2 percent are 65 and older, followed by those 50 to 64, at 18.1 percent, and those 19 to 49, at 10.3 percent.

Amid a sixfold surge in Covid hospitalizations over the past month, Korea is also facing critical staff shortages at university hospitals due to the departure of resident doctors in a spat with the government over school admission quotas — raising concerns about the potential burden to manage the rapidly increasing number of emergency virus cases.

"We've seen a significant rise in severe Covid-19 cases among patients over 60 with underlying health conditions," a respiratory medicine professor at a major university hospital in Seoul told the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. "With the departure of resident doctors, on-call professors have had to take over tasks such as patient orders and writing admission notes, significantly increasing their workload."

Adding to the strain, pharmacies across the country are experiencing shortages of Covid-19 diagnostic kits and treatments.

"The recent surge in Covid-19 cases has led to a significant increase in demand for treatments, creating a substantial gap between supply and demand," an official from the Korean Pharmaceutical Association said, adding that it has become particularly difficult to obtain treatments in areas with large elderly populations.

The demand for Covid-19 treatments and self-diagnostic kits has skyrocketed in recent weeks.

Use of the treatments increased from 1,272 doses in the fourth week of June to 42,000 doses in the last week of July, a 3,201.9 percent rise. Sales of protective equipment have also seen a sharp increase, with convenience store chain 7-Eleven reporting a 130 percent increase in sales of Covid-19 self-diagnostic kits during the week of Aug. 5 to 11, compared to the previous week.

The government has described the current shortages as "temporary." Officials attribute the issue to reduced supply levels following the government's declaration of Covid-19 as "endemic" in May of last year, which led to a stabilization in case numbers and a corresponding decrease in the production of diagnostic kits and treatments.

During the interview, Hong assured the public that "companies are ramping up production, so there should be no significant inconvenience."

Despite these assurances, concerns are growing in nursing homes housing elderly patients.

"The overall shortage of Covid-19 treatments means that we don't have enough for our nursing home patients either," the head of a nursing home in Seoul said. "Fortunately, the virus has become less virulent than before."

If Covid-19 treatments run out in this facility, staff will prescribe regular cold medicine instead.

Some nursing homes isolate Covid-19 patients only if available rooms exist. Otherwise, they prescribe treatment without isolation, as the virus was downgraded to a Class 4 infectious disease last August, removing the mandatory isolation requirement.

Vaccinations are set to continue as planned, with free vaccinations available from October for high-risk groups 65 and older. The general public will need to pay for their vaccinations.

The vaccine to be administered targets the JN.1 variant, which preceded KP.3. Although it is not explicitly designed for the currently circulating KP.3 variant, the KDCA expects it to be effective as there are no significant genetic differences between the two variants.

"There is currently no vaccine specifically for KP.3," Hong said. "We anticipate approval of the JN.1 vaccine by late August to early September, and we are preparing to purchase it as soon as it is approved."

BY SEO JI-EUN, MOON SANG-HYEOK [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]