EU Digital Covid Certificates will only be valid for travel for 9 months

EU Digital Covid Certificates will only be valid for travel within the European Union for 9 months.

On Tuesday, the European Commission issued a statement "establishing a binding acceptance period of 9 months (precisely 270 days) of vaccination certificates for the purposes of intra-EU travel."

The measure, which will be adopted on February 1, means that booster shots will be necessary for continued travel with the health pass once 9 months have passed since the first vaccination cycle.

This comes following the recommendation from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control that boosters be administered 6 months after the initial cycle, although there will be a 3-month grace period for countries to catch up on their rollout campaigns ensuring everyone has access to additional doses.

"As COVID-19 vaccine booster doses are now being rolled out, recently more and more Member States have adopted rules as to how long vaccination certificates indicating the completion of the primary vaccination series should be accepted," the statement reads. "These take into account that vaccine-induced protection from infection with COVID-19 appears to be waning over time."

Vaccine rollout in Catalonia

As of December 20, 2021, 6,201,625 residents have been given the first dose of the vaccine, 78.2% of the total population. Out of those, 5,390,917 have also been administered a second dose (68.1% of the total population). 6,031,939 residents are considered to be fully immunized (75.8%). 

Booster shots are being given to people in their fifties and older, immunocompromised people, care home residents, and anyone who received the Janssen vaccine. 

Catalonia has administered 1,477,875 booster shots to these groups.

Health system in Catalonia

Anyone who is registered in a municipal 'padró' census is entitled to at least basic CatSalut coverage, which includes Covid care and vaccinations.

You can apply for a health card here. Once you have received a CIP number, you can request access to La Meva Salut, the website and app from which medical records – including vaccination certificates – can be downloaded and health queries can be made. You will also be able to book vaccination appointments online.