Children will only need French health pass at 12 years and 2 months

Adolescents in France will only need to show a Covid health pass after the age of 12 years and two months.

The government had announced in August that young people aged between 12 and 17 would need to show their pass to access a range of public spaces and services from September 30.

However, children under 12 are currently not eligible for the vaccines, meaning that those celebrating their twelfth birthday around this time would not be able to use a vaccination certificate as their health pass.

They would be able to enter venues on presenting proof that they had already recovered from Covid or using a recent negative test, but these will be payable from October 15, making them a less viable option.

Around 200,000 children could potentially have been affected by this issue.

To resolve the problem, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s office announced yesterday (September 8) that children turning 12 will be given two extra months before the requirement comes into effect, so that they can receive both vaccine doses in time.

The minimum gap between the two injections is currently three weeks, and individuals must normally wait one week after their second dose before their health pass becomes valid.

The only exception is the one-dose Janssen vaccine, after which people must wait for 28 days.

A health pass is either proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid, a negative Covid test taken within the past 72 hours, or a positive Covid test taken between 11 days and six months prior.

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