Certificate for Janssen vaccine only issued after 4 weeks

Netherlands residents who get the Janssen vaccine against Covid-19 will have to wait four weeks until they will be considered fully vaccinated, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday. This also means a waiting period of four weeks before getting the green check mark and QR code on the CoronaCheck app, which can be used to attend events or travel abroad, NOS reports.

The new rule takes effect on August 14. Currently the waiting time between Janssen shot and vaccination certificate is two weeks. According to Rutte, this vaccine "needs a little more processing time" before offering optimal protection against Covid-19.

Rutte said that the waiting time can't be changed with immediate effect, because adjusting the app will take some time. The new waiting time will automatically apply to everyone who is vaccinated from August 14 and afterwards.

For people who get the Janssen shot before August 14, the vaccinated check mark will still appear after two weeks. But Rutte called on them to be careful not to use the QR code until four weeks after their shot. "Urgent advice is to calculate how much time has passed," the Prime Minister said. "Watch yourself until those four weeks are up."