Another France Covid pass question!

[TheBikiniExpert]

Ds17 is leaving in a week and we've just realised his covid pass is not valid. He had 2 doses, then got Covid and his recovery certificate ran out at the end of June. Can he still go?

It just means you need to have had a proper vaccine like Pfizer, Moderna, Jansen or AstraZeneca, not the sputnik one.

Thanks! @BertieBotts

But it doesn't BabyJellyFish - that's one of the requirements but the other requirement is about how many doses you've had and how far apart/long ago, and this changes. Until earlier this year, 2 doses of any of the Pfizer etc counted as fully vaccinated (or 1x Jansen). Then they decided that if you've had Jansen or your second dose is more than 9 months old you need a booster, but the booster is valid indefinitely. Some countries also accepted the initial vaccine series plus a recovery certificate as meaning indefinite protection.

I don't really want a third jab (not for antivax reasons, just needle phobia) but as I've had my second more than 9 months ago now it is a little bit hairy in terms of travel, so I might end up having to get one anyway in order to avoid having to test every time.

Do you just want to travel to France, @BertieBotts, or other countries as well?

For France, if you don't want to get vaccinated you can just take an antigen test within 48 hours of your travel to get into the country.

You won't need any proof of vaccination once you've crossed the border.

I'm not anti-vax by any means, but I got vaxed at the earliest opportunity and had my booster in December hoping it would make it easier for me to travel.

7 months after my booster, boom, I got Covid.

I think that before too long we are going to see any remaining vaccine requirements quietly dropped. The protection offered by the vaccines either doesn't last very long or isn't sufficient to stop you from getting Covid altogether, and it seems like Covid is now completely endemic in the population but fortunately not too severe for most people.

I'm not travelling - I was trying to help OP :) I already travelled last month and fortunately my second jab was just about in date, nobody checked it anyway.

Chances are you'll get Covid at some point and then you'll be "vaccinated" again anyway!

Posting here as everyone seems pretty clued up. I have a 12yr who is unvaccinated, simply because he only just turned 12 and there wasn't enough time to get the two jabs before we go to France in a month.

Two weeks ago he had covid.

I am trying to work out how I get him into France. There's a chance a pre-flight PCR will still be positive, as we are flying six weeks after he had it.

Will a positive antigen test, if I book him one this week, be acceptable does anyone think?

@Firesidefox France accepts a positive antigen test result taken within 48 hours of departure. This is what we did for just-turned 12 year old DC at Easter. We used the simplytestme website and it was very simple.

Like PP, nobody checked but I suppose you could be unlucky.

Thanks so much for replying @artisanbread but I thought the positive test needed to be at least 11 days BEFORE you fly?

This is what I'm looking at from this website uk.ambafrance.org/COVID-19-rules-for-travel-between-France-and-the-UK-28918#Travelling-with-children-under-18

Unvaccinated travellers must present a negative result of a PCR test less than 72 hours old or an antigen test less than 48 hours old before departure (departure of the first flight when the journey includes a connection), or a certificate of recovery (positive result of a PCR or antigen test carried out more than 11 days and less than four months previously. This certificate is only valid for a period of four months from the date of the examination or test).

The 11 days is for COVID recovery certificate - ie showing when you had Covid. If you just want an antigen test to show he hasn't currently got Covid, you do it within 48 hours of departure.

If you want a recovery certificate I think you need a dated test from when he had Covid, presumably a PCR test as I'm not sure what other type of test would give you proof of date.

Thanks all. Appreciate it.

I’m also just back from a week in France. Flew in and out and none of my family were asked at any point to show vaccine status.