Paris, Feb 15, (dpa/GNA) – France will not punish people caught with a fake Covid certificate – the document used to show someone’s vaccination status, if they decide to get jabbed after all, according to a new instruction issued to health authorities on Monday.
A procedure has also been created for vaccination centres to delete forged certificates from the nationwide register, and the police will no longer have to be informed of forgeries.
The French government had recently estimated that around 200,000 fake vaccination certificates were circulating in the country. On several occasions, criminals were caught hacking vaccination staff data to create thousands of fake documents.
The deadline for booster vaccination was shortened in France from Tuesday. A third shot is now required no later than four months after the second in order to keep the Covid certificate.
Without this document, access to public life in France is considerably restricted. People must be vaccinated or recovered in order to attend sporting and cultural events, or go to cinemas, cafés and restaurants. The pass is also required to travel by plane or long-distance train.
GNA