France aims to launch vaccine passes from mid-January, allowing only fully vaccinated people to enter public places, a spokesman said Tuesday.
“The omicron variant is rapidly advancing, and so are we [with vaccinations]…Speeding up also means setting up the vaccination pass without waiting," Gabriel Attal told the media after a meeting between Prime Minister Jean Castex and elected officials.
“There is no time to lose against the omicron variant,” he added.
The government will present draft legislation for the vaccination pass to the Council of Ministers on Dec. 27 so that it can be examined by the end of the year and discussed in parliament in early January.
“We are aiming for the definitive adoption of the vaccination pass in the first half of January,” Attal confirmed.
The government is currently stepping up its campaign for a third booster shot which is open to all adults 18 years and older in order to minimize the impact of the omicron variant.
The transformation of the prevailing health pass into a vaccination pass will further restrict access to around 5 million unvaccinated people who have refused to be immunized against COVID-19.
