GOVT’S PLAN ON VACCINE PASS EXEMPTIONS

[Anchor Lead]

The vaccine pass system will be exempted even for those cases in which the causal relationship between adverse reactions and vaccines was not recognized. The government announced its plan to expand vaccine pass exemptions, but pregnant women still cannot access public facilities without vaccination records.

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At present, select individuals are exempt from the vaccine pass system; those who are released from quarantine after contracting the virus, those that cannot get the second dose of the vaccine due to abnormal reactions, and those that can't be vaccinated for medical reasons. Two more groups of individuals were added to the exemption list. They are individuals who reported abnormal reactions after the vaccination yet causal relationship was determined insufficient and those who were hospitalized for bad reactions within six weeks of vaccination. The government announced that vaccine pass exemption certificates will start being issued next Monday. There are no expiration dates on the exemption certificates. The goal is to minimize the inconvenience for individuals who couldn’t get additional shots because of unexpected adverse reactions.

[Soundbite] Kim Yu-mi(Central Disease Control HQs) : "Vaccination records, negative PCR test results, quarantine completion confirmations and exemption certificates are counted as vaccine passes. We simply expanded the scope of vaccination exemption, not exempted the vaccination itself."

The exemption certificates are issued in the form of an electronic vaccination record or by updating the electronic visitor log platforms. Authorities expect to add about 17,000 more individuals to those exempted from the vaccine pass system. However, pregnant women will continue to be ineligible for the exemption. Authorities explained that when infected with the COVID-19 virus, pregnant women are more likely to become seriously ill than non-pregnant women in the same age group, however, if they are in the first trimester of their pregnancy, they are advised to discuss with their doctors before getting vaccinated.