J&J Vaccine is Not Approved as Fully Vaccinated in Some Munich Venues

A single dose of the Janssen/J&J vaccine is not considered full vaccination by the Paul Ehrlich Institut, which makes the rules for such things in Germany. A dose of the Comirnaty/Pfizer vaccine following a dose of the J&J vaccine does count as full vaccination, as does two doses of the J&J vaccine:

https://www.pei.de/EN/newsroom/dossier/coronavirus/coronavirus-content.html;jsessionid=11BF7FA57A27736027725CD249615CD9.intranet221?cms_pos=3

No full vaccination = no entry into Germany (not just "some Munich venues") without an important reason for entering (tourism is not one) per the German Missions in the US website (German Embassy):

https://www.germany.info/us-en/covid-19/2321562

As long as your son gets a Pfizer or J&J booster in the near future (NOT a J&J booster!), he will be fine for entry into Germany in May (at least according to the current rules!).

Edit: Two dose of the J&J vaccine count as full vaccination per the PEI. Corrected above!. Though France, for example, is requiring a mRNA vaccine booster for people who have received the J&J vaccine for its vaccine pass to get into venues. Tried to find a France government website reference, but am just going to go with the US Embassy in France reference: https://fr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

The Robert Koch Institute makes the rules regarding proof of recovery. The institute's website emphasizes that the rules apply to those who have not been vaccinated before or after their illness. I think this is to emphasize that full vaccination before/after infection trumps anything related to infection (as opposed to suggesting different requirements for proof of recovery for those who have been vaccinated) because there are no guidelines for proof of recovery for those who have been vaccinated and infected. The requirements to show proof of recovery are:

1. A test that must have been carried out by a laboratory procedure using nucleic acid detection (e.g., PCR)
2. The date of the positive test must be at least 28 days old
3. The date of the positive test must not be older than 90 days

A home antigen test and a doctor's note do not appear to meet the technical requirements for proof of recovery in Germany.

https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Genesenennachweis.html (in German)

Dave,

Thank you very much for the information.
I had decided not to look at all of the entry information this early so I was surprised to see that they don't consider the J&J vaccine to be enough.

I have read through the information now.
He was planning on getting boosted. He has waited this long for 2 reasons.
1. He got infected in December
2. He wanted to be sure that the interval between his booster and traveling met requirements.

For example, I am a health care worker and received my first set of vaccinations in December 2020 and my booster in November, 2021. My booster will be over 6 months old when we are traveling. I am hoping this won't cause a problem. I wouldn't mind getting another booster, but I don't know if another booster will be allowed.

We are willing to jump through hoops to go on our trip. Now I am better informed regarding Germany's requirements.

I would greatly appreciate some clarification. If I have the J&J vaccine (from March, 2021) and then I received a Pfizer booster (November, 2021), am I considered fully vaccinated in Germany and France? Thank you!

@Eddie,

Germany would consider you fully vaccinated but not boosted.

Thank you!

@vandrabrud, there is no expiration with regards to the booster shot. In other words, all Germany (and other countries) care about is that you received a booster. At this time, it does not expire.