The government is encouraging those in high-risk groups to get the latest COVID-19 vaccination while pledging to carry out the inoculation campaign without a hitch.

After attending a meeting on COVID-19 earlier in the day, head of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) Ji Young-mi said that while the infectious disease level has been downgraded, the severity and fatality rate among high-risk groups remain high, and called for continued management.

Ji further explained that the new COVID-19 vaccine is not only effective against the current dominant strain but is safe as well, encouraging those aged 65 and older and those at high risk.

On Thursday, the first day of administering the new vaccines to high-risk groups, a total of 227-thousand-774 people were vaccinated, of which around half also received the influenza shot.

The KDCA chief stressed that while COVID-19 might now be a level-four infectious disease, the government will continue to maintain a testing and treatment support system to protect high-risk groups.