Health authorities defend vaccine document expiry date
Maltese health authorities have defended imposing stricter expiration dates on vaccines certificates than those laid out by the European Commission, amid calls from European airports for action to be taken against the country. On January 17, new rules came into force which saw COVID-19 vaccine certificates expire three months after the date of the second dose. New certificates generated after the receipt of a booster vaccine are valid for nine months. These rules, however, are in conflict with those adopted by the European Commission on December 21, which establish nine months after the last dose of the primary vaccine as the standard for use during travel. As a result, European airports have written to the commission demanding action against Malta for choosing to further restrict the validity of COVID certificates for travel. Asked if the authorities were considering amending local rules to conform with those set out by the Commission, in light of these demands, a spokesperson for the health ministry side-stepped an answer and defended Malta’s right to include additional restrictions as it sees necessary. “The delegated act under the EU Digital Covid Certificate gives member...