The vaccine pass is a measure to restrict the use of multi-use facilities among non-vaccinated people agaisnt the COVID-19 virus. Since November 2021, the Korean government has implemented the so-called 'Quarantine Pass,' an administrative measure corresponding to the vaccine pass measure. The government said the number of confirmed cases exceeded 5,000 at the end of November, and that the new mutation, Omicron, was introduced into the country, thus, there is a need to ensure the safer use of multi-use facilities. Soon, however, the public strongly criticized that policy in the name of equity and effectiveness, and the vaccine pass was subjected to an administrative trial. On January 14, 2022, the fourth administration of the Seoul Administrative Court suspended the implementation of quarantine passes at stores, in Seoul, and the quarantine passes for teenagers (12-18 years old).
However, the government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government decided to immediately appeal the court's decision. Even in the court's decision to suspend execution, it was decided to push for the application of quarantine passes for teenagers. It said it would be applied mainly to high-risk facilities, except for learning facilities such as academies and reading rooms, but it remains to be seen whether the court's judgment will change. Currently, two out of three teenagers have completed the second inoculation, but, as of January 17, the increase in the first inoculation rate has been halved since January 4, when the quarantine pass implementation on academies and reading rooms was suspended. As education authorities encouraged students to be vaccinated and to be prepared for Omicron mutations, they took on the triple dose to push through with the new semester‘s normal school attendance.
At present, the government is not subjecting people to quarantine passes if they are inevitably unable to be vaccinated due to health reasons or are released from quarantine after being confirmed with COVID-19. However, after a series of criticisms that the scope was too narrow, the government announced a plan to expand vaccination exceptions. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced at a regular briefing on January 20 that if you are diagnosed with insufficient causal evidence or hospitalized within six weeks of vaccination, you can visit a nearby health center from January 24, or receive an exception certificate with no expiration date on the COOV app or the electronic access list platform.
The court‘s judgment on quarantine passes has drawn mixed reactions because each judge has different values for individual basic The court‘s judgment on quarantine passes has drawn mixed reactions because each judge has different values for individual basic rights and national quarantine measures. On the same day, the 13th administration of the same court rejected a request to suspend the application of the quarantine pass, which was requested by party leader Hwang Jang-soo. Regarding the relevant cadaster, it is difficult to say that it is necessary to urgently suspend the imposition.
As such, the policy on the vaccine pass is causing heavy administrative and judicial confusion. It has not been revealed whether or not the effectivenss of the vaccine pass is certain even at the risk of a larger outbreak. Looking at the overseas cases, the question expands even more. In Japan, as the spread of Omicron mutations has led to a surge in 'breakthrough infections (infecting those who have been vaccinated),' the Japanese government is considering suspending the 'vaccination package,' a system that allows restaurants to serve customers only if they bring a new COVID-19 vaccination certificate or a negative test certificate.
In the case of UK, there is also a movement to return to the pre-epidemic era, such as taking off masks and removing vaccine pass mandates. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on January 19 (local time) that he would end plan B, which includes wearing masks indoors and using vaccine passes at points of entry in large venues in England. Furthermore, he said he would come up with a long-term strategy for ‘Living with Corona’ in the coming spring, explaining that the legal obligations should be changed to recommendations and guidelines as COVID-19 solidifies into an endemic disease.
More than two years have already passed since the first COVID-19 confirmed case was confirmed. COVID-19 in 2021 led to wider disruption than it did in 2020. The cumulative number of confirmed cases per year in 2021 totaled 577,980, more than nine times higher than the number in 2020 (67,740, from January 20 to December 31). There were also improving indicators. One of them is the fatality rate. After the first COVID-19 related death in Korea was recorded on February 20, 2020, the fatality rate soared to the 2% range between April and August, and it continued to decline after hitting the 1.82% range in early February 2021. As of Decomber 31, 2021, the fatality rate of COVID-19 was 0.88%, and on January 18, 2020, it was 0.91%.
The administration, the judiciary, and the Korean people should now clarify their respective positions on infectious diseases. Neither the government‘s quarantine policy nor the results of the judiciary‘s administrative trial can eventually satisfy everyone. We must not lose our subjectivity in the chaos of various situations that change from time to time In the future, we should be sensitive to changing policies, and additional vaccinations should be considered based on our understanding of the behavior of the virus. The state has an obligation to protect its people in crisis situations, and the people must also maintain a cooperative attitude toward the state as long as their basic rights are not significantly violated.
Kang Seung-wan (ST Reporter)
durumi99@soongsil.ac.k
