The Minister of Health Daniels Pavļuts (AP) told reporters in the next few weeks a reasoned proposal will be made as to what terms should be set for the validity of Covid-19 vaccination certificates in order to ensure maximum protection for vaccines.
He explained that there are currently countries where such deadlines have already been set, such as Austria, where the vaccination certificate is valid for 270 days, and Lithuania has recently taken a similar step by setting the validity of the certificate at seven months. The European Commission has also proposed that a nine-month vaccination certificate be set for travel purposes.
“Therefore, I have also said publicly that it would be desirable for us to adhere to a common European standard, if it will be possible if these decisions are made fairly smoothly in Europe and they correspond to the situation in Latvia,” said Pavluts.
The Minister also pointed out that in the case of Latvia the peculiarity is the large number of people vaccinated with one dose of Johnson & Johnson. According to the available information, this vaccine currently has relatively less protection, so Latvia has set a deadline of eight weeks for a person to receive a booster vaccination.
According to him, it should also be taken into account that in Latvia “Johnson & Johnson” has received a lot of people over the age of 60 and people at increased risk.
It has already been reported that on December 1, Pavluts told the Latvian Television program “Today’s Issue” that the validity of the Covid-19 initial vaccination or the first two vaccines certificate could be expired.
The Minister stated that several European Union countries have already set expiration dates for certificates, so it is likely that this will also happen in Latvia. Pavluts thinks that this deadline could be nine months after the second vaccine.
Pavluts said the government had previously discussed the idea of such an obligation for older people, but the idea was rejected for legal reasons. After evaluation, Pavluts does not rule out the possibility that Latvia could follow such a path and introduce mandatory vaccination.
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