Authorities: "Vaccine Pass is a Temporary Measure... Validity Period of 6 Months Not Yet Decided"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The government announced that it is considering a temporary system called the 'vaccine pass' to be introduced during the transition to a phased return to daily life, also known as the 'with (with) COVID-19' system. The vaccine pass refers to a type of health certificate that allows only a limited group of people, such as those who have completed vaccination, to use multi-use facilities.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), emphasized during a regular briefing on the 5th that "the vaccine pass is not a permanent system but one introduced during the transition period for phased daily recovery."

Overseas, some countries recognize the validity of the vaccine pass for up to six months from the vaccination date, but in Korea, only plans for review have been announced, and the specific scope, target, and methods have not yet been finalized.

Regarding this, Son stated, "The vaccine pass is currently under review and nothing has been finalized yet." He explained, "The scientific certainty about the validity period of the current vaccination is still unclear. Under these circumstances, setting the validity period to about six months is currently considered insufficient."

He added, "Analyzing cases abroad, when vaccination rates become sufficiently high and the epidemic is well controlled, we can observe cases where the scope of the vaccine pass is reduced or the system itself is lifted."

Denmark introduced the 'Corona Pass' on April 21, requiring it to be presented mandatorily when using multi-use facilities such as restaurants, cinemas, and gyms, but abolished it on September 10, just five months later. The 'Corona Pass' used in Denmark was a certificate showing that the holder had completed COVID-19 vaccination, tested negative within 72 hours, or had immunity from a positive diagnosis 2 to 12 weeks prior.

From this month, under new criteria, a Green Pass is issued to those who have received a booster shot at least one week ago, those who have completed the second dose at least one week ago, and those who have recovered from COVID-19 or recovered and received one vaccine dose.

Son emphasized, "Since this is not a long-term system, the vaccine pass will likely focus on vaccination history itself. Repeating it every few months is not currently being sufficiently considered."

Son clarified that the purpose of the vaccine pass is to reduce the infection risk among the unvaccinated. He said, "In the future phased daily recovery system, minimizing severe cases and deaths is more important than the total number of confirmed cases. To achieve this, reducing the scale of the epidemic among unvaccinated people, who have higher rates of severe illness and fatality, becomes even more critical."

He continued, "In this direction, while lifting restrictions on the number of people and operating hours of various business facilities to reduce confirmed cases, the vaccine pass aims to control the scale of the epidemic by managing high-risk facilities and activities with a high possibility of infection among the unvaccinated, as well as large-scale events."

The government is currently considering not applying the vaccine pass to children and adolescents. Son explained, "We are reviewing exceptions for those under 12 years old who have not been given vaccination opportunities, as well as for children and adolescents currently, regarding the application of the vaccine pass."

He added, "Whether to include adolescents under 18, excluding adults, in the scope of the vaccine pass is under further review. Considering vaccination rates and timing, it seems more reasonable to generally exempt them."

Son also reiterated the position that discrimination or alienation against the unvaccinated will not occur. He explained, "Even for the unvaccinated, many foreign precedents allow them to use facilities or participate in events on the same basis as vaccinated people if they present a negative PCR test certificate proving no current risk." He added, "We will carefully review system models to minimize inconvenience in unwanted situations."