The safety of COVID-19 vaccines is being validated, with no major cases of adverse vaccine reaction reported in the four days since the rollout of the national vaccination campaign, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Tuesday.

A total of 23,086 people received COVID-19 vaccine shots in the four days since the country kicked off the inoculation campaign last Friday, with no major adverse reaction reported among the receivers, the prime minister said during a daily interagency meeting on the coronavirus response at the government complex in Seoul.

"So far 156 cases of abnormal reactions have been reported, but all of them turned out to be light symptoms that went away quickly, practically validating the safety of the (COVID-19) vaccines," Chung said.

The prime minister also voiced concerns over a wave of fake news against vaccine safety, pledging to actively respond to counter them.

"In some corners, however, fake news is rampant, (telling different stories) from the actual vaccination scenes," Chung pointed out, referring to SNS- and internet-circulated rumors against the safety of vaccines.

The prime minister also vowed efforts to accelerate the speed of vaccinations.

South Korea began its vaccination campaign by administering the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca to health workers and patients aged under 65 at sanatoriums, nursing facilities and rehabilitation facilities, with a goal to attain herd immunity by November. (Yonhap)