The bill about the vaccine pass has been passed this January 16, 2022, by the Parliament. The new pass is to come into effect from January 24, 2022. But for how long will the French have to comply with this vaccine pass?
According to our peers from BFMTV, the bill – currently studied at the National Assembly – plans the vaccine pass will be instated until July 31, 2022. After what, it is expected to be no longer needed, and the French will be able to enjoy all public places again, but restriction-free.
A deadline confirmed by LREM deputy and head of the National Assembly health crisis managing information mission Julien Borowczyk, this January 17, on France Info. The elected representative says the date of July 31 has been written in the law passed by the Parliament. “We’ve voted an extension of the health emergency exit, ending on July 31, 2022. I don’t see how we could keep the vaccine pass beyond July 31, 2022, which is a deadline”.
Although the law gives the expiry date of the vaccine pass, it does not mean the latter will be removed from this day forth. As a matter of fact, the health pass law was to end in mid-November. But the executive extended the use of the pass over the health situation, that actually did not improve enough to definitely get rid of this document. A similar scenario could occur in the summer 2022, depending on the evolution of the pandemic.
This is why Julien Borowczyk adds: “Today, who’s able to say when the virus will stop? Given the data and the Scientific Committee’s reports, of course, if the health emergency is not renewed, the vaccine pass won’t be renewed as well. I think this deadline is clear enough, and clear enough from a legislative, juridical, and constitutional point of view”.
Yet, there are good reasons to think the vaccine pass will come to an end before July 31: during a press brief held this January 20, 2022, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced: "the health pass can be halted if the epidemic pressure and especially the hospital pressure were to dramatically decrease over time". Olivier Véran added the vaccine pass will be instated "for as long as needed", but "not longer than needed".
The government yet seems confident and anticipates the end of the pandemic, this year. On January 2, 2022, then interviewed by JDD, Olivier Véran claimed: “This fifth wave [of Covid-19] could be the last. Omicron is so contagious it will hit all the world’s populations. It will lead to reinforced immunity: we’ll all be armed better after it passed”. In the meantime, the French health minister recommends to “keep vaccinating the planet” to “be on the safe side as much as possible”.
To understand everything about the vaccine pass, please check our summary.
Vaccine pass: what does it involve and when will it come into effect?
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Vaccine pass: what does it involve and when will it come into effect?
