A Pfizer or Moderna dose for Sinopharm vaccinated people will allow travel to France under conditions

France recognizes the following vaccines:

– Pfizer/Comirnaty,

-Moderna,

-AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria/Covishield (the latter was used in Morocco),

-Janssen.

Please note, your vaccination schedule is considered complete under the following conditions:

– Janssen: 28 days after administration of a dose;

– Other vaccines: 7 days after administration of a second dose, except for people who have been infected with covid-19, for whom this period begins after administration of a single dose.

>>If you are vaccinated with a vaccine not recognizedby France (for example Sinopharm):

-If you are French, binational or part of the family of a French person: you do not need a compelling reason.

-If you are a national of a third country, you need to prove a “compelling”need to access France. The list of compelling reasons can be consulted on this link.

Other conditions are also required:

– A negative PCR or antigen test < 48 hours upon boarding (the Moroccan QR Code is sufficient as proof).

– A systematic antigen test on arrival.

– Mandatory 10-day quarantine controlled by security forces.

Médias24 recommends that you refer to the FAQ section of the French Embassy in Morocco.

2. Take the 3rd dose in France.

If you have beenvaccinated with a vaccine not recognized by France, you can now travel to France without compelling reasonsif you take a 3rd dose of a messenger RNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna type). Here are the explanations.

Through a decree published in the French Official Journal this Wednesday, September 22, France is slightly relaxing the conditions of access to its territory for people vaccinated with a vaccine not recognized by the European Medicines Agency or by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products. On condition that this vaccine not recognized by the European Agency is recognized by the WHO, and this is the first condition.

Until then, for France, people who have taken an unrecognized vaccine, such as Sinopharm, are considered unvaccinated. They must therefore observe strict conditions to access French territory (negative PCR, quarantine, compelling reasons, etc.).

The lifting of these restrictions is now conditional on the justification of a third dose with a Messenger RNA vaccine such as Pfizer or Moderna.

According to a Moroccan scientific source, French logic is to consider the two doses of Sinopharm (or Covishield) as a Covid episode. And therefore, a person vaccinated by Sinopharm for example must take a new dose, considered second in this logic, to have the desired immunity. The second reason which explains the French decision is to facilitate the movement of French nationals residing abroad and who have not been vaccinated with a vaccine recognized by Paris.

For Moroccans or European nationals vaccinated in Morocco, this case arises precisely because the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine is widely used. Today, these people can claim access to French territory by justifying this third dose and subject to other conditions of access to France.

It remains to be seen where they can get this 3rd dose.

Two possibilities present themselves:

>>Take the 3rd dose in Morocco: For the moment, Morocco only authorizes the third dose for health personnel of all ages; people aged over 65 as well as people with comorbidities will also be targeted.

A third dose for traveling? Médias24 has already raised the issue with recognized experts. They are opposed to this idea because, according to them, vaccines provide sufficient protection.

That said, the final decision rests with the Moroccan authorities. In any case, frontliners and elderly and/or vulnerable people who will receive the 3rd dose will therefore be able to travel more easily to France provided, on the one hand, that they respect all the other conditions; and that this 3rd dose be based on messenger RNA (case of Pfizer).

>>Take the 3rd dose in France: According to reliable sources contacted by us, a French or a Moroccan not vaccinated with a vaccine recognized in France (Sinopharm for example) can go to France, respect the conditions of entry into France, comply with the required quarantine, then be vaccinated on site with a Pfizer vaccine. 7 days after vaccination, their vaccination pass will allow them to move freely. And after their return to Morocco, they will be able to return to France more easily. Of course, this option will be easier for French people living abroad because they do not need a compelling reason to enter France. It was not possible for us to verify whether a Moroccan staying in France as part of a tourist trip can be easily vaccinated in France or not.

Here is also the text of point 2° of article 2-2 of the decree of June 1, 2021 as it has been revised:

» 2° Proof of vaccination status is considered to attest to a complete vaccination schedule:
 » a) One of the vaccines against covid-19 which has been the subject of a marketing authorization issued by the European Commission after evaluation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or whose composition and manufacturing process are recognized as similar to one of these vaccines by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM):

” – regarding the “COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen” vaccine, 28 days after administration of a dose;

» – with regard to other vaccines, 7 days after the administration of a second dose, except for people who have been infected with covid-19, for whom this period begins after the administration of a dose;

“b) A vaccine whose use has been authorized by the World Health Organization and which does not benefit from the authorization or recognition mentioned in a, provided that all the required doses have been received, 7 days after the administration of a complementary dose of a messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA) vaccine benefiting from such authorization or recognition; »