people infected before February 15 must receive their booster no later than four months after their positive test

Olivier Véran announced on Friday January 28 a shortening of the validity period of the recovery certificate from February 15: obtained thanks to a positive test, it will only be valid for four months instead of six previously. “If you are confirmed for Covid-19, you cannot get vaccinated right away but you will have a certificate of recovery which will be valid for a period of four months”said the Minister of Health in a video posted on social networks.

This message is a call to action for vaccination.
Protect yourself. pic.twitter.com/SiBPPhD6An

— Olivier Veran (@olivierveran) January 28, 2022

Contacted on Saturday by franceinfo, Olivier Véran’s cabinet provided several details regarding this new rule. First of all, this shortening of the period of validity also concerns people who were infected before February 15, and not only those who will contract Covid-19 from this date and who have not yet received their dose. reminder. A person who, for example, received two doses of vaccine in 2021 before contracting the virus in early January will necessarily have to make an appointment for a booster dose before early May, four months after infection.

For the Ministry of Health, it is a matter of bringing the rules of the vaccination pass of infected persons with those the vaccination pass obtained without infection: on February 15, the vaccination pass will also be deactivated after four months after the last vaccine injection for people who have not received a booster dose. “Immunity drops after three months and doing a booster after three months creates an immune boost which makes it possible to be even more effective, especially against Omicron. We have adapted the vaccination policy to fight against the Omicron variant”we advance to the ministry to justify this passage to four months.

For people who tested positive in the fall who have not yet taken their booster dose, February 15 could therefore be synonymous with the end of validity of the vaccine pass. Those who would make their recall a few days after this date, to comply, will have to integrate the fact that there will be a period of seven days after the injection for the reactivation of the vaccination pass. This corresponds, specifies the Ministry of Health, “to the optimal delay of the immune response to Covid-19”.

With this transition from six to four months, the government is putting pressure on the seven million French people who have not yet received their booster dose. “There are two million free slots in the next fifteen weeks”says Olivier Véran’s cabinet, with the possibility of increasing vaccination capacities in the territory.