Brussels, Nov 26th : .The European Union (EU), citizens will be able to move freely within the bloc for nine month after a complete vaccination against Covid-19, according to Didier Reynders (European Commissioner for Justice). Reynders presented a proposal to the European Commission on Thursday to update travel measures during the pandemic.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which released its latest risk assessment the day before, stated that vaccines against Covid-19 have a decreased efficiency after six months.
The European Commission proposes a nine-month period that gives EU member states an additional three months to administer a booster dose.Reynders said that the validity of the booster will only be determined once sufficient data has been collected.
However, it is likely to last longer than the primary vaccine.
According to the proposal, this standard validity for vaccination certificates should ensure a coordinated approach when traveling within the EU.
“Member states should not refuse to accept a vaccination certificate issued less than nine months after the administration of the first dose of the primary vaccine,” stated the European Commission in a press statement.
“Member states should immediately take all necessary measures to ensure access vaccination for those populations whose vaccination certificates have been issued in excess of nine months,” said the commission.
This means that travel regulations will no longer be based on where they are located but instead on who they are.Travellers who present a Covid-19 certificate proving a complete vaccination less than nine months prior to departure should be allowed to travel within the EU without restriction.
The ECDC map will remain relevant for travellers who are coming from a dark-red zone and have not been vaccinated.According to the press release, they will need to undergo a predeparture test and be quarantined upon arrival.
The European Commission anticipated that the EU Council would soon adopt its proposal and that it would be in force in January 2022.
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