Authorities: "Pregnant Women Are Recommended for Vaccination... Difficult to Exempt from Quarantine Pass"

A pregnant woman is receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, USA. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] As controversies continue daily over the vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass), the health authorities will announce on the 20th plans to expand the exemption criteria for those exempted from vaccination due to medical reasons. However, pregnant women are considered a high-risk group recommended for vaccination, so they are unlikely to be included in the exemption scope.

On the afternoon of the 18th, Ko Jaeyoung, spokesperson for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), stated at the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) COVID-19 briefing, "Pregnant women are classified as a high-risk group for COVID-19 and are recommended for vaccination," adding, "It is difficult to recognize them as exempt from the quarantine pass." Currently, if a person has completed the second or third dose of vaccination or does not have a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test certificate, exemptions from the quarantine pass are only recognized for ▲COVID-19 recovered patients ▲those who experienced severe adverse reactions after the first dose resulting in postponement or prohibition of the second dose ▲those who need to delay vaccination due to immunodeficiency, immunosuppressant or anticancer drug administration ▲and those who are contraindicated for vaccination.

There have been claims that pregnant women should also be recognized as exempt since many delay vaccination due to concerns about potential side effects on the fetus. However, the health authorities emphasized that pregnant women are a high-risk group with increased risk if infected with COVID-19 and should be actively encouraged to get vaccinated. Spokesperson Ko explained, "Since there have been reported cases of unvaccinated pregnant women dying, it is difficult to consider pregnancy as a medical exemption."

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, among women confirmed as pregnant by registering their expected delivery date at the time of vaccination, 30 reported adverse reactions after vaccination. Yeonkyung Lee, head of the Adverse Reaction Management Team at the Promotion Team, said, "Most reports were of common adverse reactions such as redness (swelling and redness), pain, and muscle aches."

The government is currently conducting interdepartmental consultations and expert reviews to adjust the scope of exemptions for the quarantine pass. Related details are expected to be announced at a briefing on the afternoon of the 20th.