France says over-65s will need booster for Covid passport from Dec 15

Will Britain be next? France says over-65s will need Covid booster jabs for valid vaccine passports to get into restaurants and use trains from December 15 – and Sajid Javid refuses to rule out a similar winter plan in the UK

  • Pensioners in France will need to show proof of a booster from December 15
  • Passports to visit restaurants, attend cultural events and take intercity trains
  • Mr Javid was unable to rule out the UK enacting a similar scheme this winter 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid today refused to rule out forcing Brits to get a Covid booster jab in order to have a valid vaccine passport this winter after France brought in a strict new policy.

Those aged 65 and over in France will need to show proof of a booster to be able to visit restaurants, attend cultural events and take intercity trains, under plans announced by president Emmanuel Macron last night .

The pass has become a routine part of life for many people in France since August, with a complete course of vaccinations generating a QR code that is shown on entry to gain access to venues.

Asked about the plans on a media round today, Mr Javid was unable to rule out the UK enacting a similar scheme this winter.

He told Sky News: ‘We’re not looking at that yet.

‘We’re very focused on our booster programme, as you would imagine… in due course we will have to look at what constitutes vaccination.’

Those aged 65 and over in France will need to show proof of a booster to be able to visit restaurants, attend cultural events and take intercity trains, under plans announced by president Emmanuel Macron last night .

Asked about the plans on a media round today, Mr Javid was unable to rule out the UK enacting a similar scheme this winter.

The new rule for over-65s will further tighten what is one of the strictest such regimes in Europe. There were protests in France when the measures were first introduced over the summer (pictured) but they have since diminished

Mr Macron used an address last night o warn that Covid-19 infection rates are climbing again in France.

‘From December 15, you (over-65s) will need to provide proof of a booster jab to extend the validity of your health pass,’ he said,

Due to the rebound, masks will also again be compulsory for all students at elementary schools from next Monday, the education ministry announced after Macron’s speech.

The new rule for over-65s will further tighten what is one of the strictest such regimes in Europe. There were protests in France when the measures were first introduced over the summer but they have since diminished.

‘We have not finished with the pandemic,’ Macron said, explaining that while France is currently in a better position than either Germany or the UK, infection rates have gone up 40 percent over the past week.

Macron noted that ‘all the studies show’ that six months after getting the vaccine, ‘immunity decreases and therefore the risk of developing a serious form (of Covid) increases’.

‘The solution to this decrease in immunity is an additional vaccine shot,’ he said.

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