Pregnant Women Express Vaccination Anxiety... Authorities "Vaccination Strongly Recommended"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Regarding some pregnant women who hesitate to get vaccinated because they do not fall under the exemption criteria for the vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass), the quarantine authorities emphasized that "pregnant women are an essential recommended group who should receive vaccination even more" and "there is no country worldwide that does not recommend vaccination for pregnant women."

On the 20th, Son Youngrae, head of the Social Strategy Division of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "Pregnant women are a high-risk group for COVID-19, with a severe illness rate about 9 times higher than women of the same age who are not pregnant. Research conducted in the United States also showed that pregnant women infected with COVID-19 had a 1.7 times higher mortality rate compared to non-pregnant infected women."

The day before, the quarantine authorities newly added to the exemption criteria for the quarantine pass those who showed suspected adverse reactions after vaccination, including ▲those who were judged to have insufficient evidence of causality in their damage compensation application results ▲those who were hospitalized within 6 weeks after vaccination due to suspected adverse reactions. Previously, the exemption criteria included ▲those released from isolation after confirmed COVID-19 infection ▲those who experienced severe adverse reactions after the first dose and had their second dose postponed or prohibited ▲those who need to postpone vaccination due to immunodeficiency, immunosuppressant or anticancer drug administration ▲and those who are contraindicated for vaccination.

However, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters stated, "Vaccination is recommended as there have been reports of risk cases after COVID-19 infection among unvaccinated pregnant women," and pregnant women were not included in the quarantine pass exemption criteria this time either. As a result, some users in pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting communities expressed disappointment and anxiety in their posts.

On the same day, a user in the Naver Cafe 'Moms Holic Baby' criticized, "The government is full of contradictions. They say if you get vaccinated and get hospitalized due to problems, you become an exemption case," and added, "Are pregnant women supposed to just stay at home and not go anywhere?" This post received about 10 comments agreeing, such as "Pregnant women should be exempted. They can't even take common cold medicine easily because of concerns about affecting the baby..."

Another user asked in a post, "Is everyone getting vaccinated while breastfeeding? I didn't get vaccinated during pregnancy and planned to get vaccinated after giving birth, but now I'm breastfeeding and worried. Is everyone getting the COVID vaccine?" Questions about pregnancy, childbirth, and vaccination continued.

Regarding this, Son said, "Various research results have confirmed that the rates of preterm birth, miscarriage, and birth defects do not differ depending on vaccination status," and urged, "For your own safety, the childbirth process, and the health of the fetus, we strongly recommend getting vaccinated."

Earlier, on the 18th, Lee Yeonkyung, head of the Adverse Reaction Management Team of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team, also stated, "Among women of childbearing age who registered their expected delivery date, the number of reported (post-vaccination adverse reaction) cases was 30," and "most were general adverse reactions such as redness (swelling and redness), pain, and muscle aches."