The validity of Covid-19 vaccination certificates in the Czech Republic will shorten to nine months from 2022, Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch announced. Those vaccinated with two doses will thus need a booster shot.

“We are shortening the validity of vaccination certificates to nine months with effect from January 1 next year,” said Vojtěch.

Czechia thus follows the recommendations of the European Commission, which proposed this shortening at the end of November. According to Vojtěch, if people get a booster dose, the validity of the certificates will be indefinite for the time being.

Previously, the vaccination certificate in the Czech Covid-19 app was valid until 2025, but after an update, this date disappeared.

People older than 65 and chronically ill patients can now get a booster dose as soon as after five months. For others, a six-month period applies. If they fail to get another dose nine months after their last shot, their certificate will be invalid. People who have received the one-dose J&J vaccine will be alerted to getting revaccinated after only two months.

Approximately 6.4 million people in the Czech Republic have completed their Covid-19 vaccination. Another 940,000 people have already received booster doses, which restore the level of antibodies and, according to experts, reduce the risk of a serious course of the disease.

So far, Czechia reported over 2.2 million Covid-19 cases. The last 100,000 occurred in six days, but the pace of the spread has slowed slightly.