SKT to support vaccination monitoring with AI

SK Telecom, South Korea’s top telecom company, is utilizing its artificial intelligence technology to support the country’s health authority in monitoring recipients after COVID-19 vaccination, it said Thursday.

Dubbed NUGU Vaccine Carecall, SKT’s NUGU AI platform will provide guidance to those subject to vaccination through calls, and monitor any abnormal signs after shots are administered.

The telecom company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday.

Under the MOU, medical institutions will register their lists of recipients on the NUGU Vaccine Carecall website. The system will make calls to the listed people to guide them on what they need to be aware of before getting their shots.

The AI call system will also check for post-vaccination symptoms in recipients and notify medical staff if necessary.

No additional devices or apps are needed, SKT said.

“The introduction of the AI call will help reduce the burden on the staff at medical centers,” the company said.

As of early this month, medical workers had to make a total of 1.3 million calls to keep track of around 120,000 recipients.

SKT and KDCA plan to complete the system and start providing it in the third quarter.

“SKT will continue discovering ways to contribute to creating value for society with AI technologies,” said Lee Hyun-ah, head of AI&CO at SKT.

KDCA Commissioner Jung Eun-kyeong said, “We expect the latest MOU to help senior citizens be easily informed of information related to vaccinations.”

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)