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| A merchant receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot at a temporary vaccination center installed at Garak Market in Seoul's Songpa District, Thursday. Yonhap |
Critics claim vaccine pass would excessively restrict personal rights
By Jun Ji-hye
The government move to adopt a so-called "vaccine pass," which would restrict the access of unvaccinated people to multiuse facilities, has been hit with a flurry of criticism.
Critics claim the policy would excessively restrict personal rights and discriminate against those who have been unable to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots due to health problems or other reasons.
According to the health authorities, the plan that is under review would allow only vaccinated people to participate in indoor events and access multiuse facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, entertainment establishments and movie theaters.
"This policy would require unvaccinated people to present a negative PCR test result to enter those facilities or attend events," health ministry spokesman Sohn Young-rae said during a briefing, Wednesday.
"Unvaccinated people carry a higher probability of becoming critically ill and dying if infected with COVID-19. The vaccine pass would focus on preventing infections among the unvaccinated."
He added that the United States and some European countries have already been operating vaccine pass systems that cause inconvenience to unvaccinated people, noting that the government's review of the pass is part of measures to shift to a "life with COVID-19" phase in early November.
Following the announcement, however, a petition was posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website to criticize the government.
"There are people unable to receive shots due to underlying diseases or allergies. Can the government indiscriminately coerce people into vaccinations?" the petitioner wrote. "Giving disadvantages to unvaccinated people will cause social division and could even face a constitutional lawsuit as it could violate basic human rights."
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| Merchants wait to see if they show any abnormal reactions after vaccination shots at a temporary vaccination center installed at Garak Market in Seoul's Songpa District, Thursday. Yonhap |
Internet users have also expressed concern over the government's move, questioning whether unvaccinated emergency patients will have to wait until their PCR results come out before being given appropriate treatment at hospitals.
"It would be better to give more advantages to vaccinated people, rather than giving disadvantages to unvaccinated ones," one internet user wrote on Naver's news section.
Another person who identified herself as a pregnant woman wrote on a Naver blog, "I don't want to get vaccinated yet due to worries over possible adverse effects on my baby. But I am working at one of the multiuse facilities cited by the government. So, should I get a PCR test every day to go to work?"
On the other hand, some people welcomed the adoption of a vaccine pass, saying that vaccinated people accepted the risk of any abnormal reactions when receiving the shots.
They said giving benefits to people who accepted the government's recommendation for vaccination is absolutely essential, calling on people refusing to get vaccinated to assume responsibility for their own choices.
The government said it may exclude young children and adolescents from the vaccine pass system, as they have yet to be given the opportunity to get vaccinated. The government has been giving their parents the choice on whether to get them vaccinated.
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