독감 백신 접종 후 사망자 총 25명... 정은경 "독감 예방 접종 중단할 상황 아니다"

Our starting point tonight: The South Korean authorities are investigating the mysterious deaths of more than 20 people now after they had been vaccinated against seasonal influenza.
Health officials say there is no link between the deaths and the vaccinations and have vowed to step up a government flu-vaccination campaign to prevent the health care system from being overloaded amid the pandemic.
But it's raising safety fears among the public at a critical time as it comes on the heels of two recent vaccine recalls.
Han Seong-woo reports.
The head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Jeong Eun-kyeong at a Thursday hearing in the National Assembly said that this year's influenza vaccine is not toxic and therefore not responsible for the recent deaths.
She said that it's impossible that there could be a problem in the manufacturing process because all toxins are filtered out during the procedure and through drug safety tests.
This comes after growing public concerns, as several people across the country who got the vaccine died shortly after.
The safety of the vaccine had already been in the spotlight after half a million flu shots were recalled last month as they had been stored improperly.
There is no confirmed evidence that the deaths are linked to the flu vaccine, and some of the people who died had underlying health conditions including Parkinson's Disease and extremely high blood pressure.
Initially suspected as a cause of some of the deaths was anaphylactic shock, a serious allergic reaction that can occur after vaccination.
But after a thorough review, health officials reported that the likelihood of that is very low.
The government will continue to distribute the flu vaccine and conduct further epidemiological investigations.
But some experts are asking for more information.
"First, health officials must examine the medical evidence thoroughly and make it clear that everything's clean."
Meanwhile, the Korean Medical Association is advising a temporary postponement of vaccinations for a week.
South Korea is providing flu shots to the young and to senior citizens free of charge to reduce the burden on hospitals this winter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 8 million people have received the free flu shots so far.
Han Seong-woo, Arirang News.