There are growing number of people who died after receiving flu shots here in

the South Korean.

Concerns linger among the public as the case comes on the heels of two recent

vaccine recalls.

However, health officials say there is no link between the deaths and the

vaccinations.

They vowed to step up a government inoculation campaign.

sabina nova has our top story.

The head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Jeong Eun-

kyeong at a Thursday hearing in the National Assembly said that this year's

influenza vaccine is not toxic and therefore not responsible for the recent

deaths. "It's impossible that there could be a problem in the manufacturing

process because all toxins are filtered out during the procedure and through drug

safety tests." This comes after growing public concerns, as several people across

the country who got the vaccine died shortly after.

The safety of the vaccine had already been in the spotlight after half a million

flu shots were recalled last month as they had been stored improperly.

There is no confirmed evidence that the deaths are linked to the flu vaccine, and

some of the people who died had underlying health conditions including

Parkinson's Disease and extremely high blood pressure.

Initially suspected as a cause of some of the deaths was anaphylactic shock, a

serious allergic reaction that can occur after vaccination.

But after a thorough review, health officials reported that the likelihood of that

is very low.

The government will continue to distribute the flu vaccine and conduct further

epidemiological investigations.

But some experts are asking for more information. "First, health officials must

examine the medical evidence thoroughly and make it clear that everything's

clean.” Meanwhile, the Korea Medical Association is advising a temporary

postponement of vaccinations for a week.

South Korea is providing flu shots to the young and to senior citizens free of

charge to reduce the burden on hospitals this winter amid the COVID-19

pandemic. Over 8 million people have received the free flu shots so far. Sabina

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