As the government discusses expanding exceptions to the COVID-19 pass system, pregnant women are not expected to be included. 

In a Tuesday briefing, the Central Disease Control Headquarters explained that expectant mothers are a high-risk group when infected with COVID-19 and therefore vaccination is recommended.

Currently, people who are granted exemptions are those who have just recovered from COVID-19, those who have been prohibited from getting their second shot after suffering an adverse reaction from the first, and those who cannot be vaccinated due to immune deficiency or because they are taking immunosuppressive drugs.

There have been calls that pregnant women should also be on the list but authorities have reaffirmed their stance.

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) spokesperson Ko Jae-young said it's difficult to medically exempt pregnant women, citing reported deaths of unvaccinated expecting mothers.

According to the state vaccine task force, 30 of the women who have registered their due dates have reported vaccine side effects.