'Government Pushes Ahead with Youth Quarantine Pass'... Experts Advise Caution on Implementation

Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Starting from March, a vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass) for adolescents is scheduled to be introduced, and the quarantine authorities have repeatedly recommended the necessity of vaccination for adolescents. However, some argue that a more cautious approach is needed in enforcing the quarantine pass on adolescents, who have a low risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 20th, 2.19 million adolescents aged 13 to 18 (79.1% of the population) have received their first dose of the vaccine as of that day. The second dose vaccination rate is steadily increasing at 69.5%. However, since the beginning of this month, court rulings regarding the quarantine pass have been issued one after another, and related controversies have arisen, resulting in a relatively slowed increase compared to last month.

So far, there have been no reported cases of death from COVID-19 infection among adolescents recommended for vaccination in South Korea. In contrast, according to the Ministry of Education's data up to the 17th, suspected adverse reactions among vaccinated adolescents aged 13 to 18 accounted for 0.27% of all vaccinated individuals, totaling about 10,900 cases, with 284 cases of serious adverse reactions eligible for support, including one death.

The quarantine authorities plan to continue introducing and adjusting quarantine pass-related systems to protect unvaccinated adolescents. Son Youngrae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, emphasized in a phone interview with a radio broadcast on the 18th that "the purpose is to block infections among adolescents in places like karaoke rooms, PC rooms, and restaurants," adding that "the infection rate among adolescents is currently high."

Son also stated, "Since we have filed an immediate appeal with the court regarding the suspension of the adolescent quarantine pass in Seoul, we plan to continue explaining that the adolescent quarantine pass should be maintained focusing on facilities, excluding educational facilities."

Earlier, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled on the 14th to suspend the quarantine pass for adolescents in the Seoul area. On the other hand, the quarantine authorities point out that the proportion of adolescents under 18, whose vaccination rate is lower compared to the general adult population, has increased among total confirmed cases, emphasizing the necessity of applying the quarantine pass.

The Ministry of Education recently announced a plan to provide 5 to 10 million KRW to adolescents who show adverse reactions within 90 days after vaccination to alleviate anxiety among adolescents and parents. Under the 'National Compensation System for Vaccine Injury,' if an individual is excluded from compensation after applying through the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the individual or guardian can submit a medical expense support application to a designated agency by the Ministry of Education, which will provide medical expenses up to a total of 5 million KRW per person. For education benefit recipients whose total medical expenses exceed 5 million KRW, support will be provided up to a maximum of 10 million KRW.

However, experts also point out that the introduction of the adolescent quarantine pass should be more cautious. Masanghyuk, vice president of the Korean Vaccine Society, said, "The overall purpose of vaccination is to reduce severe infection rates, hospitalization, and death to help form herd immunity, but COVID-19 vaccination for children and adolescents does not meet this criterion," adding, "It is a situation where the risks to children and adolescents are sacrificed for herd immunity in high-risk groups."

Professor Cheon Eunmi of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital said, "The authorities claim the purpose is to protect the unvaccinated, but (considering breakthrough infection cases) the vaccine's effect on preventing infection is limited." Professor Cheon added, "The vaccine's effect on preventing severe illness applies to older individuals or those with weakened immunity," and "young and healthy people tend to have mild or asymptomatic cases, and according to one study, 60% of those under 20 are asymptomatic."

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