The European Commission wants the vaccination passport to stop being valid at nine months if there is no reinforcement dose.
Brussels is obsessed with the deterioration of the situation in many member states, the number fired of contagions, hospitalizations and patients in intensive care and with the return of the confines.
65% of the continental population is already vaccinated with the complete guideline, but Ursula von Der Limen considers that it is not enough and that the third dose, a reinforcement, will be essential.
When the pandemic exploded, and in several posterior phases, the partner coordination was very non-existent.
They applied, and apply, different measures, different criteria, both for internal containment measures and for international travelers.
Since summer the Covid certificate, which includes information on vaccines, tests carried out or patients who have just overcome the virus, works normally at airports or seasons.
But to encourage reinforcement, the Commission has suggested changes in the legislative framework this Thursday.
It is for now only a proposal, which must be discussed by the Council (national governments) and that can therefore be amended and modified.
Von Der Leyen suggests that the Covid Pass ceases to be valid to travel nine months after its issuance.
Six months because it is the recommendation of the European Center for Control of Diseases and another three per pure logistics.
However, everyone who has the third dose, and thus consists of its certificate, it would not have any limit.
The Commission admits that there is no clear scientific evidence on the validity of that third vaccine but, as it assumes it would be in any case more than the first, it considers that it is not necessary at this time set additional deadlines.
“Vaccination against Covid-19 saves thousands of lives every day in the European Union. However, a new wave is hitting us and we need to intensify vaccination even more. The good news is that we have enough dose. At the end of this week
, Europe will have delivered a billion dose to our Member States. Another important news is that we should receive a reinforcement vaccine six months after the original vaccination because we must maintain immunity. EU agencies now recommend reinforcement dose for all
Adults. Reinforcements give us an even greater level of protection and avoid many hospitalizations and deaths. A quarter of EU adults are not yet completely vaccinated. If it is not vaccinated, it runs more risk of having severe symptoms of Covid-19
. The vaccine protects you and others, “explained the German president of the Commission.
To get ahead, Brussels wants the idea to come into force as of January 10. And its reach would be greater than until now. For many months, and in the previous waves, the states have almost always restricted the displacements according to the origin of the traveler. There are areas, marked by a colored traffic light, which reflect the incidence of the virus, not by countries but by regions. However, the institutions believe, that no longer makes a lot of sense with high vaccination rates. And that is why they advocate a much more personalized approach, focused on each possessor of the certificate and not the flag of the passport of it. “A person who has a valid EU digital COVID certificate should not be subject to additional restrictions, such as PCR test or quarantine, regardless of their place of departure in the EU. To people without a digital Covid certificate of the EU They can be requested to be submitted to a test before or after arrival, “says the legislative proposal. Except for the ones that come from places like Bulgaria or Romania, for example, where the vaccination rate does not even reach 50%.
In fact, the Commission proposes to adapt now the Color Map taking into account data on the general vaccination of the population or when governments do not have them.
“Our main objective is to avoid divergent measures throughout the EU. This also applies to the issue of reinforcements, which will be essential to combat the virus. Among other measures, we propose today that the Council agrees a standard validity for certificates
of vaccination issued after the primary series. Agree this proposal will be crucial for the coming months and the protection of free safe circulation for citizens, “said Didier Reynders, European Commissioner of Justice.
The previous proposal would only affect trips within the Union and those who have Community certificates, who register vaccines approved by the European Medicine Agency.
Brussels also addresses travel from third-party countries in its legislative framework with a similar approach, but not the same.
Thus, the text to be discussed suggests that “Member States should be systematically reopened to vaccinates with vaccines that have completed the WHO emergency use process, in addition to reopening vaccinations with vaccines approved by the EU as is the
Case today. ”
However, and as “essential safeguard”, at airports or stations and ports “a negative PCR test will always be required for all travelers who have been vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine that is not approved by the European Medicines Agency
“, as well as for recovered travelers.
