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Reader question: What happens if my French health pass is deactivated?

The Local France
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Reader question: What happens if my French health pass is deactivated?
French Prime Minister Jean Castex shows his health pass to a security guard. If your pass is deactivated because you have passed the deadline to receive a booster, the solution is simple. (Photo by PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP)

French health passes are gradually being deactivated for people who have not received their vaccine booster dose in time - but what do you do if your pass is deactivated?

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I live in France and received my first two vaccine doses here. But I will be out of the country for a few weeks over the Christmas period. By the time I return, I will have passed the deadline to get my booster dose and my health pass will be deactivated. Does this mean I need to start my entire course of vaccinations again? 

In order to hold a valid health pass in France, over 65s need to get a booster dose within a set time frame. This rule will apply to all over 18s from January 15th. 

Currently, that time frame is between five to seven months since your last Covid-19 vaccination or infection. From January 3rd, all adults will be eligible to receive a Covid jab from four months since their last Covid-19 vaccination or infection.

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If you were initially vaccinated with the one-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson vaccine), you become eligible for a booster one month following your shot, and must receive a booster two months following the shot before your health pass is deactivated. 

There is an online tool that allows you to check when you are eligible for a booster dose. 

Those who downloaded the TousAntiCovid any earlier than December should update the app (on some phones this is automatic - but otherwise you can do this simply clicking the "update" button on the home screen). The updated app will send you an alert five months after your last vaccination to remind you that you should get a booster if you want to carry on using the health pass. 

If you have passed the deadline to receive your booster dose, then the app will deactivate and you will not be able to access various public venues like restaurants, cinemas, gyms and concerts. 

At present it is possible to use a recent (within 24 hours) negative Covid test if your vaccine certificate has lapsed, but there are plans to remove this option from January. 

But all is not lost. 

It is possible to reactivate your health pass once you have had the booster dose. If you are over 65, you do not even need to book an appointment to receive your booster. You can simply walk into any vaccination site and you will be given priority treatment.

You can read our guide on how to get a booster dose HERE

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After receiving your booster dose, you will get a new vaccination certificate and you simply scan this into TousAntiCovid to reactivate the app.

If you do not yet have a French carte vitale, ask at the vaccine centre for a paper copy of the certificate.

The reactivation of the health pass is supposed to be immediate (unless this is only your second shot, in which case you must wait seven days). But because of a computer error, a small minority of people who receive their booster dose may also have to wait seven days before the TousAntiCovid app recognises their new vaccination status. 

If this is the case for you, you can still show paper proof of your first two jabs and booster jab which will permit you access to any health pass venue.  

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Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
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Anonymous 2022/01/14 21:57
I got a passe sanitaire in September based on my two January 2021 Moderna shots in the USA. I got a Moderna booster in the USA in December 2021. Will my passe be deactivated? If it is, how/where do I apply for a new one? I’m returning to France in May 2022. Thanks for your reply. — Bitsy
Anonymous 2022/01/04 17:19
I got my first vaccines and my booster in the US. I hope to return to France on 19 January. How do I get my pass sanitaire updated at CDG?
  • Anonymous 2022/01/26 20:29
    Hello Barney, Did you get to France as planned? If so, were you able to get your VaccinePass updated with your USA booster? How did you do it? I got my HealthPass while in Paris last July using my CDC card & US passport (plus 20 euro) at a pharmacie, but within the past month or so the TousAntiCovid app told me I've been deactivated for no booster (I got boosted in the US in October, but, of course, France doesn't know that). I will be returning to Paris in a couple of months and am wondering what steps to take to get updated. Thank you. Eric
Anonymous 2021/12/22 11:18
I didn't have an appointment, nor am I over 65 but just showed up and was given my third booster. It is worth trying to do this.

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