"Sudden" Panic Among Parents: Early Flu Outbreak Sparks Chuseok Concerns

[Anchor]

As the new school semester begins, flu cases are spreading rapidly, primarily among elementary school students, alongside a rise in COVID-19 patients. With flu vaccinations yet to begin, extra caution is needed for health management during the changing seasons.

Reporter Jeong Banseok has the details.

[Reporter]

A mother holding a six-month-old child visits a hospital in Seoul.

Her third child has caught the flu, following her first child, who is an elementary school student.

[Jang Yeon-hee / Guardian of a 6-month-old: My children and I have never missed a single vaccination every year, but we hadn't gotten it yet because the vaccination period hasn't arrived. The flu hit us so suddenly, and it's so baffling.]

In the fourth week of last month, suspected flu outpatients reached 13.3 per 1,000 visitors, more than double the figure from the same period a year ago.

Among elementary school students, the figure stood at 36.5 per 1,000, nearly three times the average across all age groups.

Influenza cases have been unusually rising since late August, and the flu is also spreading in countries like Japan and China.

While a clear cause has not yet been identified, the reopening of schools is believed to have contributed to the spread.

[Bang Seung-jun / Pediatrician at Our Children's Hospital: The number of flu and COVID-19 patients has already increased significantly since August. The patient numbers are surging further as factors like children returning to school in September overlap.]

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency plans to issue an epidemic advisory as early as tomorrow (the 11th).

This is the earliest since 2009, when the H1N1 flu swept the country.

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients also increased from 61 to 109 over the span of a week, heightening concerns of a simultaneous epidemic.

[Park Wan-beom / Professor of Infectious Diseases at Seoul National University Hospital: Because it can spread simultaneously with COVID-19, it seems necessary to get vaccinated against both COVID-19 and the flu a bit earlier.]

Flu vaccinations for children and pregnant women will begin on the 21st of this month, and for those aged 65 and older, on the 12th of next month.

Since it takes two weeks for antibodies to form, the virus could spread further during the Chuseok holiday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency urged citizens to get vaccinated as quickly as possible according to the schedule and to follow personal hygiene practices such as washing hands and wearing masks.

(Video by: Ha Ryung | Video Editing by: Yoon Tae-ho | Design by: Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.