Brussels mulls tying vaccine certificates to booster shots

The European Commission plans to decide within “a few days” whether the validity of EU vaccine certificates should be linked to booster shots after a certain period of time.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday that the EU’s digital COVID-19 pass should be made conditional on getting booster shots after six months, “in order to avoid any crack in the wall of immunity that has already been built on our continent.” Mitsotakis added that he would write to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with such a suggestion.

French President Emmanuel Macron also said last week that the coronavirus pass would be tied to booster shots for those eligible to receive them over age 65.

Asked on these comments at a press conference on Friday, a Commission spokesperson said that “currently there is no validity period foreseen for the vaccination certificates” but that “this is part of the issues that we are planning to address in the next couple of days.”

“Give us a few days and then we will give more clarity from our side on the validity of the vaccine certificates … and the question of boosters,” the spokesperson added, suggesting that Commission would make a proposal to amend EU rules which would then have to be discussed and adopted by member countries.

Showing a valid vaccine certificate has been made mandatory in most EU countries for entering bars, restaurants, sports facilities or night clubs as well as traveling via flights or trains. However, there are concerns about the continued efficiency of the system as data shows that immunity typically wanes significantly five months after the second vaccine shot, especially in older people.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Emmanuel Macron’s name.