A medical worker fills a syringe with a dose of the coronavirus vaccine at a public health center in Seoul on April 2, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The vast majority of South Koreans believe that COVID-19 will continue and that they should accept the idea of an ‘uncomfortable coexistence’ with the disease.
The the state-run National Medical Center conducted a survey of 1,550 South Korean adults, 89.6 percent of whom believed that ‘COVID-19 will never cease to exist, and regular vaccinations should take place like influenza.’
They also strongly believed in home treatments (73.3 percent), quarantine and medical strategy focusing on severe patients (62.6 percent), and the need for offline schooling (60.6 percent) as part of a phase-by-phase transition for the current quarantine strategy.
Respondents who have been infected with the virus had stronger beliefs in these ideas. In contrast, only 42.5 percent agreed that current restrictions should be alleviated.
While 46 percent of respondents were less impressed by the government’s efforts to secure an appropriate amount of vaccines, 38.9 percent believed that vaccination programs have more or less been successful, giving high scores in terms of patient management and medical treatment.
Looking at the responses from 29 COVID-19 patients who had received medical treatment, however, showed that only 58.6 percent (17 people) believed the medical treatment was effective, creating a gap between responses from patients and non-patients.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
