Covid Travel dilemma WWYD

[ComfyQuilt]

I’m NC for this Covid travel dilemma.

I have had second of two vaccines four months ago and am due to have my booster soon. I am 100% legal to enter France.

We are supposed to be going skiing at half term with a large family group. You need a vaccine pass to use ski lifts that is stricter than the rules for entering the country.

The rules is that in order to get a vaccine pass you currently need a booster within seven months of vaccine two.

Im well within this time frame but the rules change DURING my half term trip (booster time limit drops to four months) meaning that I can no longer use my nhs pass on ski lifts.

I don’t want to get the booster yet as two family members have had confirmed Covid within the last month. I had a ‘cold’ and I currently still have impaired taste despite testing negative on many lateral flows and pcr.

I now want to wait before having booster due to increased risk of myocarditis but the rules in France (not to get there but for leisure activities) won’t enable me to wait as I never had a positive pcr.

If it was just me going then I’d reroute to Italy to resolve this but I can’t do this without inconvenience and cost to others.

A boosted relative who is not coming on holiday, and is of similar age has sent me their nhs travel pdf. Would you print it out for use on ski lifts only?
WWYD

1. Use the relative’s pdf for ski lifts and restaurants only for second half of the trip
2. Go but spend day 4 onwards alone in the apartment
3. Cause hassle and cost to everyone and change the trip to Italy
4. Have booster too early ( assuming previous false negative test) and risk health issues ( I already have irregular heart rate and have had cardiology assessment of this)

So wwyd?!

No way would I use someone else’s covid pass, cannot see how you think this would be ok. If you want to travel at the moment you need to be vaccinated or wait until these restrictions are lifted.

I think if you choose to travel to another country, you choose to follow their rules. At the moment, that includes covid rules. Either get the vaccine, or don’t go.

@Mindymomo so you would go with number 4? I will emphasise again that I’m perfectly legal to travel using my own documents. We’re talking about venue access only.

@MsJaneAusten I agree. Which is why I’d much rather reroute to Italy. Hence the dilemma!

I live in France, you can not be 100% sure that the Gendarmerie will not control you while you are on the pistes. A very hefty fine would be given for false use of a Covid Pass. A lot of restaurants now check the ID of unfamiliar clients to be on the safe side, as in case of fraud, they can also be fined. Italy is also very strict. Personally I would have the booster jab.

@Nowstrong thank you. I meet all the requirements for Italy’s super green pass. It’s the second rule change in France that will be a problem for the second half of my trip.

Just have the booster. It's extremely safe.

You have to carry ID in France at all times, it is the law. I used the NHS covid app on my phone for vaxxing evidence. A passport is a pretty slim document, surely you have a zipped pocket in your ski suit that you can put it in?

Get the booster and the NHS app. I'm sure you'd be carrying your phone with you whilst skiing?

@Nowstrong

I live in France, you can not be 100% sure that the Gendarmerie will not control you while you are on the pistes. A very hefty fine would be given for false use of a Covid Pass. A lot of restaurants now check the ID of unfamiliar clients to be on the safe side, as in case of fraud, they can also be fined. Italy is also very strict. Personally I would have the booster jab.

Agreed,

We’ve all heard stories (and read some forum posts) making claims about passes never being looked at but the Gendarmes have certainly run checks at times on the local pistes (We’re close to the Pyrenees).

The OP might want to bear in mind that as part of the fanfare surrounding yesterday’s change from passé Sanitaire to the passé vaccinal the government has again emphasized the need for IDs to be verified.

They have also emphasised that people and establishments can expect more checks by officials…they are very intent, in least in theory, on cracking down on fraudulent use of passes and it’s now a €1000 fine for a first offense.

Personally I’d recommend getting the booster.

French language info: www.vie-publique.fr/loi/283068-loi-22-janvier-2022-pass-vaccinal-gestion-de-la-crise-sanitaire

Can I ask as a question to clarify the new rules? I had my booster in September six months after jab 2, as per the uk rules at the time. Is this going to acceptable for when I visit France in summer?

Yes, I would do no. 4, you’ve not tested positive, so can have booster anytime.

I wouldn't use someone's pass. That's fraud.

@dingledanglewoowoo

Can I ask as a question to clarify the new rules? I had my booster in September six months after jab 2, as per the uk rules at the time. Is this going to acceptable for when I visit France in summer?

You might have to wait and see, AFAIK no decision as been made yet by the French government whether anything will be required beyond initial vaccination (double “jab”) and booster number 1.

Don’t go to another country and try to break their rules just so that you get your skiing jollies, that’s a scummy thing to do. Even if their rules are a bit shit, and even if you had a guarantee of not being caught, it’s shitty.

If you want the skiing holiday, then do the right thing and have your booster.

You'll find it easier to have the French vaccine passport app BTW as that works with their scanners better. On a previous trip I was denied entry because their scanner wouldn't read the NHS app. You use your NHS QR code to activate the French app.

We had to scan it to buy lift pass and ski school first day but after that not for each lift. You would find it hard to enter a bar or cafe though as they were scanning every person in the party.

So change to Italy and cover the cost your family will have to swap, it's cheaper than paying a fine for using fraudulent documents.

The risk of myocarditis after being vaccinated is highest in young men and related to the level of testosterone. If you aren’t a young man why are you worried, especially given you have already been double jabbed presumably without a problem?

If you want to travel to another country you have to respect the rules that they have put in place.

You have not had confirmed covid, despite testing. There are still other illnesses around!

Get your booster at least 14 days before you hope to travel.

Here every place I've been they have the scanner app on their phones. You risk getting into serious trouble if they check your ID, apart from it being a scummy thing to do - just get the bloody booster or stay at home.

Getting the booster is far less risky compared with skiing!

Not quite the same thing, but a number of people are rolling up at our vaccination centre for their first jab at the moment. Often the slightly aggressive ones, saying 'I don't want to have it, but I can't go on holiday unless I do'. Priorities!

#4 — I’d get the booster.
#2 — failing that, I’d sit out the second week.
#3 — or I’d switch to Italy, but I would pay for everyone else’s extra costs. (I’m not rich and can’t afford to go skiing anyway. But when my choices affect other people financially on holidays I’ve been on I’ve paid up. I don’t let my choices cost other people financially.)

What I would not do under any circumstances is #1.

In order
#4
#2 you might find some things to do
#3 but pay everyone's costs to change

Under no circumstances would I do #1. And under no circumstances would I give my NHS pass to someone else to use in this way.

I would have the booster.

If 1/3 are asymptomatic as reported then many people will have had a booster too close to possibly having covid.

You didn’t definitely have covid, it’s unlikely if you tested negative. We had similar with dd having a cold when her sister had covid but she tested negative so I presume she hasn’t had it.

It’s safer for you to have your booster. If you’re exempt someone would have informed you already.

Thanks all. Lots of food for thought!