Travel rules change today as 600,000 yet to receive updated Covid cert

From February 1, vaccine certs received after completion of the primary vaccination series (first and second dose) won’t be accepted for EU travel if it’s been more than nine months since the primary vaccination series was completed.

As many as 600,000 people are still waiting for their updated Covid certificates after receiving their booster vaccinations, meaning from today they may need to pay privately for a PCR or antigen test in order to travel.

From February 1, vaccine certs received after completion of the primary vaccination series (first and second dose) won’t be accepted for EU travel if it’s been more than nine months since the primary vaccination series was completed.

For most people who received their primary vaccinations last summer, this means their first covid certificate will become invalid for EU travel around mid-March.

After this, updated EU digital covid certificates (EUDCCs) with proof of booster vaccination or recovery, or a negative result on a pre-flight PCR or rapid antigen test will be needed for EU travel, depending on the country.

Those who received their first vaccination series more than nine months ago and have yet to receive their updated EUDC will have no means of proving their vaccination status for EU travel.

This cohort may be required to obtain a negative result on a pre-flight test for countries such as Spain - something that wasn’t necessary prior to February 1.

One person who’s still waiting for their new certificate told the Irish Examiner: “I had my booster in December, but I can’t have access to my new EU Digital Covid Certificate.

“I’ve been in contact with the helpline and online chat three times but nobody is able to give me my cert. Every time I get a new date for receiving it via email but I’ve received nothing.” 

They added they were told by the HSE that when their GP uploaded their booster dose to the system, it wasn’t added as an additional dose.

“That’s why I keep being sent my old certificate,” they said.

“I don’t know what to do anymore, it’s beyond ridiculous at this stage. 

My partner got their booster on the same day, right beside me and got their cert a week later. 

"People are going to miss their holiday plans due to this ridiculous system.” 

A spokesperson from the Department of Health told the Irish Examiner that “every effort” is being made to ensure EUDCCs are issued to everyone who should have one.

Over half a million paper EUDCCs have been posted to booster recipients who did not provide email addresses or phone numbers.

More than 700,000 texts had been sent from the department in recent weeks urging recipients to register for their new EUDCC online.

It was previously stated that “data quality issues” when uploading patient info to the Covax system caused delays in EUDCCs being issued.