South Korea ordered a fifth more flu vaccines this year to ward off what it calls a "twindemic," or the prospect that people with flu develop coronavirus complications and overburden hospitals in winter. "I understand and regret that people are concerned about the vaccine," said Health Minister Park Neung-hoo, who confirmed the free program would go ahead. Vaccine providers include domestic firms such as GC Pharma, SK Bioscience, Korea Vaccine and Boryung Biopharma, a unit of Boryung Pharm, along with France's Sanofi. Of the 13 who died, five received products from SK Bioscience, three from Boryung, two each from GC Pharma and Korea Vaccine and one from Sanofi. The most deaths in South Korea linked to seasonal flu vaccinations was six in 2005, the Yonhap news agency said.

Source: CBC News October 22, 2020 08:26 UTC