• Eliel Nham, Young-Eun Kim, Jaehun Jung, Dong Wook Kim, Hoyeon Jang, Hakjun Hyun, Hye Seong, Jin Gu Yoon, Ji Yun Noh, Joon Young Song, Woo Joo Kim, and Hee Jin Cheong.
• Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2022 Nov 21; 37 (45): e325e325.

AbstractAs most individuals acquire immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, South Korea declared a return to normalcy a few months ago. However, epidemic waves continue because of endlessly emerging variants and waning immunity. Health authorities are focusing on those at high risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 to minimize damage to public health and the economy. In this regard, we investigated the vaccination rates in patients with various chronic medical conditions by examining the national health insurance claims data and the national immunization registry. We found that patients with chronic medical conditions, especially those of higher severity, such as malignancy, had vaccination rates approximately 10-20% lower than those of the general population. Public health authorities and healthcare providers should try to vaccinate these patients to avoid preventable morbidity and mortality.© 2022 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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