Residents of the European Union will have to take a booster dose within nine months after the second dose so that their Covid certificate remains valid, according to a proposal presented on Thursday (25) by the European Commission.
Rules for those who do not reside in the block must be announced this Thursday afternoon.
The new internal regulation, which is expected to enter into force on January 10, after approval by the European Council (leaders of the 27 members), takes into account scientific evidence that the protection offered by vaccines against infection is reduced after six months of the second dose —and, to a lesser degree, also for serious illnesses and deaths.
The additional three months are for countries to adapt their vaccination campaigns to give the third dose to everyone who has had their full vaccination for at least six months. Campaigns are at different stages in the bloc, with some countries applying reinforcement only to the elderly and vulnerable.
According to the commissioner responsible for Justice, Didier Reynders, the Commission will try to coordinate the members so that everyone offers the third dose for adults.
According to the Commission, 650 million digital certificates have already been issued in the European bloc, and there are 24 other countries connected to the EU system — in Latin America, only Panama is on the list.
The certificate records the vaccination with immunizers authorized by the EMA (European regulatory agency), the recovery of Covid or the negative result for Sars-Cov-2.
In the case of vaccines not yet authorized by the European regulator, such as Coronavac or Sputnik, the decision is up to each country in the bloc.
The Commission’s recommendation is that travelers from within the block who hold the certificate are not subject to additional restrictions such as quarantines or testing. EU residents who have the document and arrive from outside the bloc will have different rules, according to the risk of the country of origin — there are four bands, from green to dark red.
The classification criteria will change, to include immunization—the rate of new cases per 100,000 population, the percentage of population vaccinated and the rate of tests performed will now be taken into account.
By the current criteria, this Thursday (25), no country in the bloc is in the green zone, and only Italy is mostly yellow.
Residents who do not have a digital certificate will still be able to travel within the block, if they present a negative result in a coronavirus test or undergo quarantine, among other restrictions that are the responsibility of each member country.
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