"Pregnant Women Angry Over Quarantine Passes: 'Now We Can't Even Go to Department Stores to Shop for Kids' Clothes'"

Starting from the 10th, Vaccine Pass Applied to Large Marts and Department Stores
Pregnant Women Protest, "Can't We Even Go to Marts?"
Government "Considering Expanding Vaccine Pass Exemption Criteria"

Pregnant women opposing the 'quarantine pass' continue to emerge. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Getty Images Bank.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Starting from the 10th, department stores and large supermarkets will be included in the mandatory subjects for the quarantine pass (vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system), sparking intense controversy over discrimination against the unvaccinated. In particular, there are criticisms that it is unreasonable as even those who have difficulty getting vaccinated, such as pregnant women, are unable to use essential facilities like restaurants and supermarkets. Many pregnant women hesitate to get vaccinated due to concerns about adverse effects on the health of the fetus.

In response to this situation, there are also public petitions requesting that pregnant women be exempted from the quarantine pass. As the controversy grew, the government announced that it would prepare improvement measures, including expanding the scope of exemptions.

Recently, complaints from pregnant women about the quarantine pass have been pouring in on online communities. A netizen who identified herself as a pregnant woman expressed through a mom cafe in the Gwangju area, "I completed the second dose before pregnancy. Now I am in early pregnancy, but it has already been 180 days since the second dose," and added, "Last week, I went to a cafe with my family, but the staff said I couldn't drink together because I was unvaccinated, so I said I would drink alone. Even then, they said no."

She continued, "Pregnant women cannot get vaccinated even if they want to. Pregnant women don't even take cold medicine," and complained, "Consideration for pregnant women is necessary. It is upsetting."

Earlier, the government decided to apply the quarantine pass to large retail stores such as large supermarkets and department stores starting from the 10th. Accordingly, customers using large stores must verify their vaccination status using QR codes, vaccination certificate stickers, etc., regardless of the number of people.

Those whose quarantine pass certification period has expired or who are unvaccinated will be restricted from shopping by themselves at department stores or purchasing daily necessities at supermarkets. This measure will be fully implemented from the 17th after a one-week guidance period following the application.

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board screen capture.

However, many pregnant women do not get vaccinated due to concerns about vaccine side effects not only for themselves but also for the fetus. Therefore, there are voices calling for pregnant women to be designated as an exemption group for vaccination.

Currently, patients who have experienced anaphylaxis, thrombosis, myocarditis, or pericarditis after the first dose, or those receiving anticancer immunosuppressants, do not have to apply the quarantine pass if they obtain an exemption certificate with a doctor's note. Other health reasons are not recognized as medical grounds for vaccination exemption.

In this situation, complaints related to the quarantine pass are flooding the Blue House's public petition board. On the 3rd, a petition titled "I am pregnant. Do we have to enforce the quarantine pass to this extent?" was posted. As of 10:30 a.m. on the 6th, this petition had received about 2,540 endorsements.

The petitioner, who identified herself as a pregnant woman five months along, said, "I am always anxious about tests such as fetal anomaly screening, detailed ultrasound, and gestational diabetes screening," and opened up, "But suddenly, due to the government guideline called the quarantine pass, I am not allowed to go to supermarkets and department stores."

The petitioner said, "I could endure not eating out, but now if I am even blocked from buying food and clothes, how am I supposed to live?"

She added, "Pregnant women must live with happiness and anxiety from pregnancy through childbirth," and lamented, "Until now, I thought I was living in a good country and felt fortunate that my child could be born and live in the Republic of Korea. But for the first time, I resent and hate this country."

Meanwhile, the vaccination rate among pregnant women is reported to be low. According to the quarantine authorities, as of the 9th of last month, 2,087 pregnant women (1.5%) had completed the first dose of the COVID vaccine, and 1,175 pregnant women (0.84%) had completed the second dose. In other words, the completion rate is less than 1%.

Meanwhile, the government announced that it would prepare improvement measures to expand the scope of exemptions for the quarantine pass. Son Youngrae, head of the Social Strategy Division of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said at a regular briefing on the 5th, "Since opinions have been raised that improvements are needed regarding unavoidable vaccination exemptions and related reasons, we will review improvement measures together with experts."

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