Bulgaria’s Health Ministry: From February 1, EU green certificates valid 270 days from last dose
From February 1, all European green certificates issued for a completed course of vaccination against Covid-19 will be valid for 270 days from the date of the last dose, Bulgaria’s Health Ministry said.
The change arises from a decision by the European Commission in December about the validity of certificates and the introduction of uniform rules for EU countries, the ministry said.
The change covers certificates for completed vaccination course with both single-dose and two-dose vaccines that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
European green certificates for the completed vaccination course against Covid-19 issued so far will continue to be valid in the EU with the new deadlines, with no need for them to be re-issued, the Health Ministry said.
The validity of the certificates will be monitored through mobile applications created for this purpose. For Bulgaria the official validator is COVID CHECK BG.
In other Covid-19 news in Bulgaria:
The Health Ministry said that it had approved contracts with nine suppliers for 7.61 million Covid-19 tests for use in schools, to a total value of 15 518 628 leva.
The ministry said that it had received 42 offers after announcing the tender.
Prime Minister Kiril Petkov told a news conference said that a proposal was being discussed to remove the green certificate requirement when 60 per cent of Bulgaria’s population had received a second dose of vaccine against Covid-19 and when intensive care bed occupancy had fallen to five per cent or less.
“This is not a final decision, it is just a proposal that will be discussed in the coming days. We want to show that proactive we are also managing this process,” Petkov said.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s online vaccine tracker, the cumulative uptake of full vaccination among the total population was, as of January 21, a total of 28.5 per cent. This is the lowest in the EU-EEA area.
Bulgaria began its campaign of vaccination against Covid-19 just less than 13 months ago, on December 27 2020.
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