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.
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.
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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