EU sets time limit on vaccine certificates

The certificate will now only be valid for nine months 

Vaccine uptake in Europe has increased significantly since the summer and more than 650 million EU Digital Covid Certificates have been issued – however, the validity period of the EU Digital Covid Certificate for intra-EU travel has now been reduced.

A vaccine certificate is now only valid for nine months (270 days) after the second dose of a two-dose vaccine or after the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Boosters are recommended to be taken six months after completing vaccination, but a grace period of three months is in place, allowing travellers to wait up to nine months.

Travellers will have to provide proof of having received a booster shot nine months after their last vaccine in order to be classified as “fully vaccinated”.

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According to an EU commission spokesperson: “A clear and uniform acceptance period for vaccination certificates will guarantee that travel measures among the EU countries continue to be coordinated.”

While this doesn’t necessarily mean that double-jabbed travellers from outside of the EU will need a booster to enter all countries in the European Union, they may have trouble accessing venues and services without further testing once they arrive at their destination.

For more information, visit www.ec.europa.eu