COVID-19 Vaccination

Disclaimer: this page contains information regarding COVID vaccinations in the hope that the information is useful for SNU's International Community. The contents are compiled and updated regularly by OIA to the best of our knowledge and capabilities. Nevertheless, the information presented here may be incomplete or outdated, and OIA cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies.

Table of Contents

• Getting a vaccine (incl. booster shots)
• Vaccination passport
• Registering overseas vaccinations
• Sources

 

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination (incl. Booster Shots)

The Korean government encourages everyone to get vaccinated. Vaccination is free. Korea uses the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna plus traditional adenovirus vaccines by AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson. The New York Times has put together informative articles on how the different vaccines work: Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson.

• Eligibility
  All people age 5 and up are eligible for the basic vaccination. Booster shots are available to people 12 and above.
• Expiration of "fully-vaccinated" status
  The "fully-vaccinated" status is set to expire 6 months after the last vaccination. A booster shot renews the status for another 6 months.
• Booster shots
  Data shows that the efficacy of the vaccine starts to drop significantly between 3 and 6 months after being fully inoculated [1, 2]. Everybody 18 and above can get a third shot (booster shot) as soon as three months after completing the initial vaccination. The fourth vaccination (second booster shot) is available to people aged 50 or older and people in risk groups aged 18 or older. The period between the third and fourth booster must be at least 120 days.
• Reservation
  Appointments can be made on https://ncvr.kdca.go.kr/ (Korean only) or via telephone to 1339 or 129 (multilingual service offered).

Vaccination passport (suspended)

Note: the use of the vaccination passport has been suspended.

The Korean government has developed an electronic vaccination passport called COOV. After entering your ARC number and name, the app will show your vaccination status. The app is available in English and works well.

• COOV for Android devices
• COOV for iPhones
• COOV application information

Alternatively, you can use the QR code feature of your favorite app (Kakaotalk, Naver, etc) and link it with your vaccination status.

Registering Your Overseas Vaccination Status in Korea

Since early December 2021, overseas vaccinations of WHO-approved vaccines can be registered in Korea and appear in the electronic vaccination passport. To do so, visit a local health center with proof of vaccination and identification.

Updates and Sources:

• [07/15] 4^th booster shot available to people aged 50 or older
• [03/15] Children ages 5-11 eligible for inoculation
  • The Korea Herald