"Vaccinated Medical Staff Work in Tears Despite High Fever... Sick Leave Requests Denied"

On the morning of the 27th of last month, COVID-19 medical workers who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are waiting in the observation room at the Central Vaccination Center of the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. The photo is not related to the article content. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] It has been revealed that some healthcare workers who submitted sick leave due to symptoms that appeared after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine were rejected.

On the 15th, Lee Hyangchun, head of the Medical Solidarity Headquarters of the Public Transport Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, spoke in unison about the support for the 'sick leave system for healthcare workers after COVID-19 vaccination' emerging recently in the medical community during an interview on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jongbae's Focus.'

When asked if there are guidelines to respond to such symptoms, Lee said, "There are differences in response methods depending on the hospital," adding, "The labor union is guiding workers to use sick leave and is demanding that hospitals provide at least minimal paid sick leave."

He then introduced cases where sick leave applications were actually rejected. He said, "After receiving the vaccine, I had a high fever and muscle pain and could not possibly go to work, so I requested sick leave. The department head told me, 'Then take a day off,' so I rested, but when I came to work the next day, the sick leave was rejected."

He continued, "In another hospital, there was no substitute staff, and while working in such a condition, a worker developed a high fever and severe chills and ended up crying while going home from work. In another hospital, an employee had high blood pressure and a nosebleed and was lying down observing their condition, but due to the lack of substitutes, they had to return to work the next day."

Lee pointed out that the reason sick leave is difficult to use is the 'staff shortage' problem, noting that "even normally, hospital staff are not sufficient." He explained, "If I take a day off, other colleagues have to take on additional work, so when sick, people cannot comfortably use sick leave. Because there are no substitutes, if someone is called in to work, it burdens those colleagues, so many just refrain from taking leave while being cautious."

He also said, "In the case of nursing facilities, there is no spare staff, so the person on leave calls another colleague who is off to ask them to work in their place, resolving the issue internally," adding, "Especially for care workers, who often work 12 or 24 hours a day, it is very difficult to care for the elderly in that physical condition."

Lee emphasized the need for the government to establish and present guidelines recommending taking a day off the day after vaccination.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.