For those unaware, South Korea plans to start vaccination inFebruary, with health workers and vulnerable people first in line.
South Korea signed a deal with AstraZeneca to secure 20million doses of its vaccine in December, with the first shipment expected asearly as January.
It also has deals with three other drugmakers ¨C Pfizer Inc,Johnson & Johnson¡¯s Janssen, Moderna Inc ¨C and the global COVAX initiative,backed by the World Health Organization.
In light of the supposed end to the mask-wearing days of thepandemic, many South Korean folks are rushing to book their cosmetic surgeryappointments.
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According to a Reuters report, South Korea has been a worldcapital of cosmetic surgery even during non-pandemic times. The industry isestimated to be worth about $10.7 billion in 2020, up 9.2% year-on-year, and isexpected to hover around $11.8 billion this year, according to Gangnam Unni,the country's largest online cosmetic surgery platform.
Cosmetic surgeons say patients are interested in all partsof the face: those that can be easily hidden under masks, such as the nose andlips, as well as those that face coverings don't conceal, which some considerthe criteria of beauty in the coronavirus era.
Ryu Han-na, a 20-year-old university student, got cosmeticsurgery on her nose in mid-December, and for her, the ability to recuperate athome and wear a mask in public without drawing attention, were deciding factorsthroughout 2020.
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"I always wanted to get a nose job... I thought itwould be the best to get it now before people start taking off masks whenvaccines become available in 2021," she told Reuters.
"There will be bruises and swelling from the surgerybut since we'll all be wearing masks I think that should help," she added.
"Both surgical and non-surgical inquiries about eyes,eyebrows, nose bridge and foreheads - the only visible parts - certainlyincreased," said Park Cheol-woo, a surgeon at WooAhIn Plastic SurgeryClinic, who was in charge of Ryu's operation.
Surgeon Shin Sang-ho, who operates in Krismas Plastic SurgeryClinic in the centre of Gangnam district, said many people have spent theiremergency stimulus payment from the government at hospitals and clinics,boosting revenue in the third and fourth quarter of 2020.
"I felt like it's sort of a revenge spending. I'vesensed that customers were expressing their pent-up emotions (from thecoronavirus) by getting cosmetic procedures," Shin said.
Government data showed that of 14.2 trillion won ($12.95billion) government cash handouts, 10.6% was used in hospitals and pharmacies,the third-largest segment by classification, behind supermarkets andrestaurants, though the details of hospital types were not disclosed.
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Gangnam Unni data showed its users surged 63% from a yearearlier, to about 2.6 million last year. They requested 1 million counsellingsessions, double the amount from a year earlier.
South Korea expanded a ban on private gatherings larger than four people to the whole country, and extended unprecedented social distancing rules in greater Seoul as the number of daily COVID-19 cases bounced back to more than 1,000 in four days.??
"We've seen growing numbers of cancellations inconsultation appointments recently as people refrain more from going outside... especially customers from the suburbs mostly postponed their surgeries to2021," Park said.
?All Inputs Reuters