South Korea urges COVID-19 booster shots, as severe cases hit record

A man undergoes a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a testing site in Seoul, South Korea, November 10, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea encouraged its citizens to take COVID-19 booster shots on Wednesday, as more of the elderly fell ill and reported vaccine breakthrough infections, driving serious and critical cases to a record.

Severe coronavirus cases jumped from the mid-300s in October to 460 on Wednesday, official data showed. Of the severely ill patients, more than 82% were aged 60 and older.