VACCINE PASSPORT. To push the 6 million French people not vaccinated against the coronavirus for vaccination, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on December 17 that a bill would be submitted to Parliament to transform the health pass into a vaccination pass: thus only vaccination will be valid.
[Mise à jour le 17 décembre 2021 à 20h07] We had forgotten it but the vaccine pass could very soon enter into force in France according to the announcements of the Prime Minister Jean Castex, Friday 17th December. Faced with the “dazzling” diffusion of the Omicron variant and 6 million unvaccinated French people against the coronavirus, the Executive will propose a bill in Parliament to transform the current health pass into a vaccination pass : so only vaccination will be valid in the country. The option of getting tested will no longer be possible. The introduction in Europe of a vaccine passport had been mentioned in January 2021. It was a document, in the form of a QR code or in paper version, certifying that a person had received a vaccination. complete against Covid-19. This sesame would allow him to travel abroad without testing and to access certain public places or events. Subject to controversy, deemed too restrictive, discriminating and unequal, the vaccination passport had finally been replaced by the European health pass. But the Scientific Council, in a notice of July 6, 2021 recommended “the establishment of a vaccination passport, for individual purposes in order to be able to access certain “spaces of freedom” (restaurants, cultural activities, sports …). Understand everything.
The vaccination passport (or vaccination certificate) is an official document which certifies that the person has received all the injections of the vaccine against Covid-19 (two doses then booster). This is a “pass” which could allow its holder to travel to another country (if the host country recognizes its validity), but also to certain public places (restaurants, museums, sporting events, cultural places, etc.). On the other hand, the vaccination passport does not mention negative tests or certificates of recovery from Covid. It is therefore not the same as a health pass.
Does it already exist? There is a international vaccination record, sometimes required to enter certain countries, issued in International Vaccination Centers to people who come to be vaccinated against yellow fever.
The vaccination passport should not be confused with the (European) health pass implemented in France since June 9 and introduced at European level on July 1.
| Information contained | Vaccination passport | Health pass |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of vaccination | YES | YES |
| PCR or antigenic tests negative | NO | YES |
| Proof of recovery from Covid | NO | YES |
The Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Friday, December 17 that the government will table a bill in Parliament to transform the current health pass into a vaccination pass in order to push the 6 million French people not yet vaccinated against Covid to do so. If the vaccination pass is introduced in France, only vaccination will be valid to access places already subject to the health pass: restaurant, cinema, museum … The tests will no longer be recognized. The establishment of a vaccine passport had been mentioned in Europe but this measure was not unanimous. The idea was ultimately rejected due to a large inequality in the deployment of vaccination in Europe. For these detractors, it established a discrimination between vaccinated people and unvaccinated people, which was not accepted by case law. For Dominique Le Guludec, president of the High Authority for Health (HAS). the vaccination passport did not have “no Sens” Insofar as “it is not known if this vaccine blocks the transmission of the virus “, she insisted on January 12, 2021 on FranceInfo. “We are very reluctant […] It is an irrelevant debate and it would be shocking if there were more important rights for some than for others. It is not our conception of protection and access to vaccines “, for his part, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, reported on January 17, 2021, still on FranceInfo.
Unlike the vaccination passport, the health pass is not only linked to vaccination.
The European Commission had decided and opted for a common certification to facilitate travel for travelers within the European Union: the famous European health pass. This health pass, by not being solely linked to the vaccination and by mentioning the tests or acquired immunity, “removes one of the essential legal difficulties, that of vaccine-related discrimination, which was very problematic”, said the doctoral student in private law and criminal sciences at the University of Bordeaux, Yoann Nabat, in the online magazine The Conversation. However, the Covid Scientific Council recommended in an opinion of July 8, the implementation of this vaccination pass without waiting to be able to access certain “areas of freedom” (restaurants, cultural activities, sports, etc.).
Globally, the WHO emergency committee on Covid had indicated in April 2021 not be in favor of a compulsory vaccination passport for international travelers. He recommended to “not require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry given the limited evidence regarding vaccine performance in reducing transmission and given the persistent inequality in global vaccine distribution. States Parties are strongly encouraged to recognize that the requirement of proof of vaccination may exacerbate inequalities and promote differentiated freedom of movement.“, we could read. However, some countries have decided despite everything to set up a vaccination passport within their territory.
► In israel : a vaccination passport had been set up in February 2021. It could be obtained on the website of the Israeli Ministry of Health and gave access to sports halls, swimming pools, sporting and cultural events, amusement parks, hotels … With an extremely low incidence rate, the State of Israel decided, on June 1, to suspend his vaccination passport. “To my great joy, the situation allows us to cancel the use of the green passport and the restrictions on the limit of people inside“said the Minister of Health.
► In Morocco : the country reopened its borders on June 15, 2021. On two conditions: either hold a vaccination passport, or present a negative PCR test of less than 48 hours. The vaccination passport can be downloaded from the site liqahcorona.ma and allows its holder to travel throughout the country without restrictions and to travel outside of curfew hours. The Moroccan authorities consider the vaccination passport valid after 4 weeks after the 2e dose of vaccine.
► In iceland : an online service dedicated to requesting vaccination certificates was launched on January 21, 2021. To obtain it, you must justify having received two doses of an anti-Covid vaccine. This vaccine passport allows in particular to be exempted from border restriction measures, according to the Icelandic Ministry of Health.
Sources: Vie-publique.fr/ Covid-19: a European health certificate, June 16, 2021 / WHO