Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives

Original Article

Estimating the number of severe COVID-19 cases and COVID-19-related deaths averted by a nationwide vaccination campaign in Republic of Korea: Ji Hae Hwang, Ju Hee Lee, Eun Jung Jang, Ryu Kyung Kim, Kil Hun Lee, Seon Kyeong Park, Sang Eun Lee, Chungman Chae, Sangwon Lee, Young Joon Park; Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2023;14(3):164-172. Published online June 22, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.24171/j.phrp.2023.0096

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Objectives
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency promotes vaccination by regularly providing information on its benefits for reducing the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to analyze the number of averted severe COVID-19 cases and COVID-19-related deaths by age group and quantify the impact of Republic of Korea’s nationwide vaccination campaign.
Methods
We analyzed an integrated database from the beginning of the vaccination campaign on February 26, 2021 to October 15, 2022. We estimated the cumulative number of severe cases and COVID-19-related deaths over time by comparing observed and estimated cases among unvaccinated and vaccinated groups using statistical modeling. We compared daily age-adjusted rates of severe cases and deaths in the unvaccinated group to those in the vaccinated group and calculated the susceptible population and proportion of vaccinated people by age.
Results
There were 23,793 severe cases and 25,441 deaths related to COVID-19. We estimated that 119,579 (95% confidence interval [CI], 118,901–120,257) severe COVID-19 cases and 137,636 (95% CI, 136,909–138,363) COVID-19-related deaths would have occurred if vaccination had not been performed. Therefore, 95,786 (95% CI, 94,659–96,913) severe cases and 112,195 (95% CI, 110,870–113,520) deaths were prevented as a result of the vaccination campaign.
Conclusion
We found that, if the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign had not been implemented, the number of severe cases and deaths would have been at least 4 times higher. These findings suggest that Republic of Korea’s nationwide vaccination campaign reduced the number of severe cases and COVID-19 deaths.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Comparative Effectiveness of COVID-19 Bivalent Versus Monovalent mRNA Vaccines in the Early Stage of Bivalent Vaccination in Korea: October 2022 to January 2023
Ryu Kyung Kim, Young June Choe, Eun Jung Jang, Chungman Chae, Ji Hae Hwang, Kil Hun Lee, Ji Ae Shim, Geun-Yong Kwon, Jae Young Lee, Young-Joon Park, Sang Won Lee, Donghyok Kwon
Journal of Korean Medical Science.2023;[Epub] CrossRef

Brief Report

The effectiveness of Paxlovid treatment in long-term care facilities in South Korea during the outbreak of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2: Hanul Park, Young Joon Park, Hye Young Lee, Mi Yu, Yeong-Jun Song, Sang Eun Lee, Ji-Joo Lee, Eun-Sol Lee, Yeonjung Kim; Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2022;13(6):443-447. Published online December 23, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.24171/j.phrp.2022.0262

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Graphical Abstract Abstract PDF

Objectives
On November 5, 2021, Pfizer Inc. announced Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir +ritonavir) asa treatment method that could reduce the risk of hospitalization or death for patients withconfirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Methods: From February 6, 2022 to April 2, 2022, the incidence of COVID-19 and the effectsof treatment with Paxlovid were analyzed in 2,241 patients and workers at 5 long-term carefacilities during the outbreak of the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndromecoronavirus 2 in South Korea.Results: The rate of severe illness or death in the group given Paxlovid was 51% lower thanthat of the non-Paxlovid group (adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 0.49; 95% confidence interval [CI],0.24−0.98). Compared to unvaccinated patients, patients who had completed 3 doses of thevaccine had a 71% reduced rate of severe illness or death (aRR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.13−0.64) and a65% reduced death rate (aRR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.15−0.79).Conclusion: Patients given Paxlovid showed a lower rate of severe illness or death and alower fatality rate than those who did not receive Paxlovid. Patients who received 3 dosesof the vaccine had a lower rate of severe illness or death and a lower fatality rate than theunvaccinated group.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Efficacy and safety of antiviral treatments for symptomatic COVID-19 outpatients: Systematic review and network meta-analysis
Meital Zur, Thalia Peselev, Stav Yanko, Victoria Rotshild, Ilan Matok
Antiviral Research.2024; 221: 105768. CrossRef
Clinical Effectiveness of Ritonavir-Boosted Nirmatrelvir—A Literature Review
Sydney Paltra, Tim O. F. Conrad
Advances in Respiratory Medicine.2024; 92(1): 66. CrossRef
Effectiveness of nirmatrelvir‐ritonavir on severe outcomes of COVID‐19 in the era of vaccination and Omicron: An updated meta‐analysis
Sien Ombelet, Diego Castanares‐Zapatero, Fabian Desimpel, Frank Hulstaert, Sabine Stordeur, Dominique Roberfroid
Journal of Medical Virology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
COVID‐19 infection in patients with haematological malignancies: A single‐centre survey in the latest Omicron wave in China
Xiaolu Zhu, Qian Jiang, Jin Lu, Yuqian Sun, Xiaosu Zhao, Shenmiao Yang, Feifei Tang, Wenjing Yu, Ting Zhao, Xiaohong Liu, Jinsong Jia, Wenbing Duan, Lijuan Hu, Jing Wang, Yang Liu, Nan Peng, Xuelin Dou, Rui Ma, Qiang Fu, Huifang Wang, Kaiyan Liu, Xiaojun
British Journal of Haematology.2023; 202(1): 31. CrossRef
The association mental health of adolescents with economic impact during the COVID-19 pandemic: a 2020 Korean nationally representative survey
Hanul Park, Kang-Sook Lee
BMC Public Health.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Efficacy and safety of paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) in the treatment of COVID‐19: An updated meta‐analysis and trial sequential analysis
Haokun Tian, Changsen Yang, Tiangang Song, Kechen Zhou, Lequan Wen, Ye Tian, Lirui Tang, Weikai Xu, Xinyuan Zhang
Reviews in Medical Virology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Real-World Effectiveness of Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir and Its Acceptability in High-Risk COVID-19 Patients
Min-Kyung Kim, Kyung-Shin Lee, Sin Young Ham, Youn Young Choi, Eunyoung Lee, Seungjae Lee, Bora Lee, Jaehyun Jeon, BumSik Chin, Yeonjae Kim, Gayeon Kim, Hee-Chang Jang, Jae-Phil Choi, Sang-Won Park
Journal of Korean Medical Science.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Effectiveness of Molnupiravir Treatment in Patients with COVID-19 in Korea: A Propensity Score Matched Study
Hye Rim Park, Min-Gyu Yoo, Jong Mu Kim, Soon Jong Bae, Hyungmin Lee, Jungyeon Kim
Infection & Chemotherapy.2023; 55(4): 490. CrossRef
Nirmatrelvir combined with ritonavir for preventing and treating COVID-19
Stefanie Reis, Maria-Inti Metzendorf, Rebecca Kuehn, Maria Popp, Ildiko Gagyor, Peter Kranke, Patrick Meybohm, Nicole Skoetz, Stephanie Weibel
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.2023;[Epub] CrossRef

Original Article

mRNA vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant transmission from home care cases to household contacts in South Korea: Hanul Park, Young Joon Park, Sang Eun Lee, Min Jei Lee, Hyungtae Ahn; Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2022;13(6):435-442. Published online November 28, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.24171/j.phrp.2022.0243

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Graphical Abstract Abstract PDF

Objectives
Household contacts of confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) areexposed to a high risk of viral transmission, and secondary incidence is an important indicatorof community transmission. This study analyzed the secondary attack rate and mRNA vaccineeffectiveness against transmission (VET) for index cases (patients treated at home) confirmedto be infected with the Delta and Omicron variants.Methods: The subjects of the study were 4,450 index cases and 10,382 household contacts.Logistic regression analysis was performed to compare the secondary attack rate byvaccination status, and adjusted relative risk and 95% confidence intervals were identified.Results: The secondary attack rate of the Delta variant was 27.3%, while the secondary attackrate of the Omicron variant was 29.8%. For the Delta variant, groups with less than 90 daysand more than 90 days after 2 doses of mRNA vaccination both showed a VET of 37%. For theOmicron variant, a 64% VET was found among those with less than 90 days after 2 doses ofmRNA vaccination.Conclusion: This study provides useful data on the secondary attack rate and VET of mRNAvaccines for household contacts of COVID-19 cases in South Korea.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Household secondary attack rates and risk factors during periods of SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variant predominance in the Republic of Korea
Jin Lee, Mijeong Ko, Seontae Kim, Dosang Lim, Gemma Park, Sang-Eun Lee
Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives.2023; 14(4): 263. CrossRef

Brief Report

Follow-up Study of Patients Previously Diagnosed with Lymphatic Filariasis in Korea: Hyeng Il Cheun, Hee Eun Shin, Da Won Ma, Sung Hee Hong, Tae Yun Kim, Sang Eun Lee, JungWon Ju, Yun-Kyu Park, Tong-Soo Kim, Shin Hyeong Cho; Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2017;8(6):421-424. Published online December 31, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.24171/j.phrp.2017.8.6.10

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Abstract PDF

Objectives

Korea was an endemic area for lymphatic filariasis (LF), caused by the nematode parasite Brugia malayi, until the 1970s. The World Health Organization recognized Korea as LF-free in June 2008. However, it is necessary to confirm that patients that have had LF in the past still test negative, to prevent the re-emergence of LF in Korea.

Methods

We followed up a total of 83 patients who had been diagnosed with LF between 2002 and 2010 in endemic LF areas.

Results

Fifty-two of the 83 subjects were negative for LF, whereas 31 subjects had re-located to a different city or province, were dead, or were unaccounted for. Most subjects with negative test results still exhibited edema in the legs or the arms, and some complained of redness and swelling in the legs or ankle joints. However, we found that these symptoms were due to diseases other than LF.

Conclusion

In this follow-up study, we did not find any evidence indicating the potential re-emergence of LF in Korea.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Lymphatic filariasis in Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Negar Bizhani, Saeideh Hashemi Hafshejani, Neda Mohammadi, Mehdi Rezaei, Mohammad Bagher Rokni
Parasitology Research.2021; 120(2): 411. CrossRef
Status of common parasitic diseases in Korea in 2019
Sun Huh
Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2019; 62(8): 437. CrossRef

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