The certificate for primary vaccination against Covid-19 will continue to be valid for face-to-face work.
According to the Cabinet, a person will be considered fully vaccinated and will have access to a valid Covid-19 certificate if:
- up to 150 days or approximately 5 months have passed after receiving a dose of the vaccine produced by Janssen;
- up to than 270 days or approximately 9 months have passed since the second dose of vaccine in the case of other vaccines;
- the person has received a booster.
Since no booster vaccine is currently available for children under 18 years of age, the term of validity of the certificate will not apply to children. For people having received a booster, there is currently no expiry date of the certificate obtained after the booster.
Health Minister Daniels Pavļuts said at the press briefing after the government meeting that booster shots should be planned now when there are opportunities, as the Omicron type is spreading and as soon as early February many medics could fall ill and there could be limited opportunities to get the booster.
The term of validity of the Covid-19 certificate will not apply to face-to-face work, namely, those who have completed at least primary vaccination will be able to continue to work even after the 5 months after Janssen or 9 months after other manufacturers' vaccines have elapsed. This will also apply to volunteers and persons with outsourcing contracts.
However, for entry into Latvia, the term of validity of the vaccination certificate will be set at 270 days in the case of any vaccine. This approach is intended to ensure uniform access to travel within the EU for Latvian nationals.
The conditions for the period of validity of the vaccination certificate for entry into Latvia shall take effect on February 1, for use in Latvia on February 15.
The Ministry of Justice has pointed out that legal structures in these government regulations were complex and not consistent. The Minister for Health has promised to clarify them by the time they enter into force.
