[Newsmaker] COVID pass will not be required from people who have been hospitalized with vaccine side-effects

People who have been hospitalized due to adverse events and allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are exempt from the country’s vaccine pass mandate, starting on Monday.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the government will grant the exemption if people have received hospital treatments within six weeks after they received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Those people who requested the government compensate them for vaccination side-effects will be also exempt from the vaccine pass mandate even if health authorities have failed to determine causality between their vaccinations and adverse symptoms.

The government said those who are eligible for exemption from the vaccine pass mandate can apply for a paper certificate at local public health centers.

People who have received the government exemption can also update their vaccination status on the COOV, Naver, Kakao or other affiliated COVID-19 verification apps.

The government certificate has no expiration date, it added.

Previously, health authorities granted exemptions for the vaccine pass mandate if a person has a history of anaphylaxis and severe allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines. Health authorities have been also granting exemptions to people who have completed quarantine after being diagnosed with COVID-19, as well as those with immunodeficiency and people on anticancer drugs.

(ws@heraldcorp.com)