Decision on teen vaccine pass to be made next week

By Bahk Eun-ji

The Ministry of Education plans to discuss whether to implement a “vaccine pass” system for teenagers aged under 18.

The vaccine pass system requires people visiting multi-use facilities such as PC rooms, movie theaters and karaoke rooms to be fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 test result.

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae

“Various ways to ease the virus restrictions for people under the age of 18 are under discussion. A detailed plan will be decided after talks with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters next week,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said on a local radio show, Friday.

Schools in the Seoul metropolitan area will fully resume in-person classes Nov. 22. But the vaccination rate for 12 to 17-year-olds, and especially for 12 to 15-year-olds who are in the sixth grade of elementary school and first to third grades of middle school, is still low as parents are still reluctant to get them vaccinated.

Yoo said that if the vaccine pass was made a requirement for that age group, there is a possibility that the percentage of vaccinated will increase.

“The vaccination rate of children and adolescents aged 12 to 15 is about 21 percent. We will be able to allay their parents' concerns about the possible side effects of the vaccine by accurately using data that show it is much more beneficial to get the shot.”