September the 15th, 2021 - After it was confirmed that from the beginning of October, all employees in the healthcare system can only come to work if they have Croatian covid certificates, and soon the same could happen in the social services system, the question arose what to do with those whose certificates are expiring.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, at this moment in time, Croatian covid certificates are valid for nine months from the holder receiving their second dose of the vaccine. For those who were vaccinated early and received their second dose in January, their deadline expires in mid-October. This primarily applies to healthcare and social workers, as they were a priority group and were among the first to be vaccinated.
"Doctors, nurses and non-medical staff who trusted science at the end of last year and the beginning of this year and were vaccinated and thus preserved their own and other people's health, will not be left without their Croatian covid certificates,'' confirmed the Minister of Health, Vili Beros.
At this point, Croatian covid certificates are valid if no more than 270 days have passed since the holder received their second dose, a period which, for the first among the population to be vaccinated, including healthcare workers, nursing home staff and residents, will begin to expire soon.
The extension of the validity of Croatian covid certificates will certainly be related to receiving the third dose, and Beros notes that at this moment all eyes are on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which should decide on the third ''booster'' dose of Pfizer in ten days at the latest. "I believe that the opinion of the EMA will be positive. The Croatian Institute of Public Health is preparing instructions so that we can say that we're ready,'' explained Beros, reports Jutarnji list.
But regardless of the EMA and the decision on the third dose, an extension of the duration of Croatian covid certificates is also being considered in the context of vaccination. For now, only Pfizer has asked the EMA for approval for the third dose, so the question remains what to do with those who have been vaccinated with Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
"As always, we're closely monitoring the situation and adjusting things as needed. Other companies will certainly ask for approvals for the third dose. We're also waiting for answers as to whether it will be recommended that people who received the vector vaccine, for the third dose, receive the mRNA vaccine and vice versa,'' said Beros.
In addition to the booster dose, it seems that Croatian covid certificates will have their validy periods extended.
"Some countries have already extended the validity of their certificates to 12 months, and it's very likely that we'll go in that direction and extend the certificate for a year in accordance with the results of the latest scientific and professional tests," said Beros.
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