Amid rising concerns that government-managed COVID-19 vaccines may have been administered despite possible contamination, health authorities said Tuesday that no vaccines reported to contain foreign substances were administered.
According to a report released Monday by the Board of Audit and Inspection, a total of 1,285 vaccine doses distributed nationwide were found to contain foreign materials. The report also noted that additional doses sharing similar characteristics were not subject to government inspection.
The findings cover vaccines distributed between March 2021 and October 2024.
“Vaccines reported to contain foreign materials were immediately separated and stored apart from other doses, and none were administered,” the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.
The ministry added that approximately 14.2 million doses sharing the same manufacturing codes as the reported vaccines had been distributed, but inspections conducted by manufacturers found no safety issues.
The audit agency reported that administration of the relevant vaccine batches should have been immediately suspended and subjected to inspection, noting that 9.9 percent of detected foreign materials included fungi, hair and silicon dioxide, substances that could have entered during manufacturing or storage.
Following the report, opposition lawmakers criticized Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong, who led Korea’s early pandemic response as commissioner of the KDCA until May 2022.
“Minister Jeong should immediately apologize to those who died after vaccination and their bereaved families and take appropriate responsibility,” Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the main opposition People Power Party said Tuesday.
Responding to the criticism, the agency said it strengthened procedures for handling reported vaccine issues by revising storage and management guidelines in October last year.
It added that it will introduce procedures allowing direct quality inspections by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety when significant quality concerns are identified, even for vaccines approved under emergency use authorization.
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