Korean Expat Community for National Disasters

Hello, this is Dana! Before anything else, I hope everyone had an enjoyable and safe Chuseok holiday last week. Also, thank you for visiting the Korean Expat Community for National Disasters website. Welcome! Now, for this podcast, I would like to talk about my the COVID-19 vaccination experience here in Korea. The pandemic is clearly not yet over. In Korea, new cases per day is still almost at 2,000 and we have not seen a significant decline in the past months. In other countries, cases are still rising especially because of the new variants of the virus that are emerging, like the Delta variant. But thankfully, we already have vaccines available to us that can certainly help protect ourselves against COVID-19. Getting vaccinated in Korea is not mandatory, but it is free and is highly encouraged by authorities. The Korean government is aiming to immunize 70% of its 52 million residents, including us, foreigners, within the year. Schedule of vaccination for foreigners is the same as that of Korean citizens. For my age group (18-49 years old), individuals had to register on a designated day based on the last digit of their date of birth. This was implemented from August 9 – August 18. Example, in my case, my birth date is 20, so I registered on August 10. Those who didn’t make an appointment during those dates still had until September 17 to do so. Registration was done online through the KCDA (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency) website or by phone or by visiting a local public health center. Because I am a holder of the National Health Insurance, I was easily able to book an appointment online. I also downloaded the COOV app where I can access details of my appointment. I got my first dose of Pfizer vaccine last September 10 and I’ll be getting my 2nd dose exactly 6 weeks after. I haven’t gotten my 2nd dose yet. I was vaccinated at a clinic near my home. The moment I got there, I had to fill out a form and since the form was in Korean, the nurse helped me by directly translating the items to me while I was filling it out. After that, the doctor explained a few things, and then I got my shot. Then, I was asked to sit and wait for 15 minutes just to see if I’d have sudden allergic reactions. Shortly after that, I was on my way back home. So basically, my experience was pretty straightforward and fast. To add, my vaccination credential was shortly updated in my COOV app showing verification that I received my first dose of Pfizer vaccine. I you haven’t, I recommend that you download this app as well. As for side effects, a few hours after the shot, the only thing I felt was that my arm was quite heavy and painful. So, it was hard to lift things or move my arm. The same thing also happened to some of my family and friends who already got vaccinated so this didn’t worry me so much. I just made sure that I didn’t do exhausting activities for a few days, and I took some time to rest. So, how about you? What is your COVID-19 vaccination experience here in Korea? We’d love to hear about it, too. Thanks for listening and stay safe~