Period of grace mulled for implementation of COVID-19 green certificates

The digital COVID green certificate is "a necessity," but there must be a grace period for people to decide whether they want to be immunised or tested, head of Romania's National COVID-19 Vaccination Coordination Committee (CNCAV) Valeriu Gheorghita said on Tuesday.

"First of all, I think we need to conclude that we need this green certificate, and I think that, as we have seen lately, a view is being crystallised that we need to implement the green certificate nationwide," Gheorghita told a news conference at the Government House.

According to him, it should be allowed a period of grace for people to decide what to choose.

"It is obvious that if this certificate were implemented tomorrow, the eligible population would not have time tomorrow to get vaccinated, to get all vaccinated. Then, there must be this period of grace in which - before we start vaccinating and most elect to get vaccinated- we have to keep up epidemiological safety, because we know that in the first 14 days after the first dose the person is not protected. And so - at least for a certain length of time - we must have this certainty that the epidemiological state is not deteriorating, and I believe that is certainly a useful proposal, for a limited period of time, allowing people to decide knowingly what to choose between getting a vaccine or getting tested," said Gheorghita.