Corona Passport EU Commission: The corona certificate will expire nine months after the second vaccination

European Union has adopted new rules on the use of the EU digital coronary vaccination certificate, the Commission informed on tuesday.

The amendments will enter into force at the beginning of February, unless a qualified majority of the Member States or a simple majority of the European Parliament repeals the decision.

The vaccination certificate, or in everyday life the corona passport, will be valid for nine months after taking the second vaccine – or for the time being if the person has received the third vaccine.

The coron passport can also be obtained for a maximum of 180 days after suffering from coronary heart disease or for a maximum of 72 hours through a negative test result.

Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders has justified the time limit for the vaccination certificate on the grounds that, according to research, the efficacy of the vaccine has clearly decreased half a year after the second dose.

However, an additional three months will be needed beyond this six-month period to allow Member States sufficient time to organize booster vaccinations.

“The speed with which booster vaccines are distributed now depends on member states,” Reynders said Tuesday. “This guarantees our health and safe travel.”

Commission does not yet specify how long the certificate for the full vaccination series will be valid after the third vaccination. It is assumed that protection after the third vaccination will last for more than six months.

The main purpose of the corona passport is to ensure free movement within the EU. A valid corona passport should allow free travel from one member state to another.

However, during the pandemic, member states have set their own additional requirements for the EU corona vaccination certificate, such as recent negative corona test results. This is also being considered in Finland due to the rapid spread of the omicron virus variant.