“If you're thinking of European travel next spring or summer, it would be a good idea to get the third dose."

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that it is "very likely" that people will need evidence that they have received a Covid-19 booster vaccine to travel in the EU next year. The Tánaiste made the comments during a briefing after the Government announced a handful of new restrictions following advice from NPHET designed to curb the spread of the virus in light of the new Omicron variant. Under the measures, close contacts who have received a booster will only need to restrict movements for five days, compared to ten days for those without one. During the briefing, Varadkar urged the public to take up a booster dose when offered. "For anyone who's wondering about whether or not they should get the third dose or get the booster... there really are three very good reasons," he said. "The first one... is these vaccines protect you against the risk of severe illness, hospitalisation and death. "Secondly, if you are a close contact and you've had the three jabs, you only have to restrict your movements for five days instead of ten. "Thirdly, at a European level, the Digital Covid Certificates are going to be reissued in the New Year. "It's very likely that in order to travel in spring and summer, you'll need to have the new Digital Covid Cert which is the evidence that you've been boosted, that you've had the third dose. "So, if people are planning or looking ahead towards overseas travel within the European Union in spring or summer, you need to get this third dose. "It's very much in your interest to do so." Currently, travellers can present negative PCR tests as an alternative to being vaccinated. However, later in the briefing, Taoiseach Micheál Martin noted how some booster-related travel restrictions have already emerged in Europe. He then said: "We will be moving fairly quickly on that”. "If you're thinking of European travel next spring or summer, it would be a good idea to get the third dose," Varadkar then added. Main image via Julien Behal / RollingNews.ie