Coronavirus Blue vignette is coming
It replaces the green vignette with immediate effect and is only valid for people who have received their booster shot. There will be a transition period until the end of February 2022.
The so-called 3G regulation (Covid vaccination, recovery, negative test) remains in force for all courses at RUB, with stricter rules for the medical and sports degrees (see box). The green vignette that is currently proof of 2G (vaccination, recovery) will be replaced by a blue vignette. A transitional period will last until the end of February 2022; after 28 February, only the blue vignette will be valid. It will only be issued to persons who have received their booster shot. People who have not been received three vaccinations or two vaccinations and have recovered from Covid, but who have been tested, recovered or have basic immunisation (one resp. two shots), must prove their status with a (digital) certificate.
The vignette will again be issued primarily locally in individual RUB facilities – in the faculties, in the university library (UB) and for international students from mid-February in the International Office. This approach proved effective in autumn 2021 following the introduction of the green vignette. In March, a central issuing office will also be set up.
Circumstances have changed
“Due to the ever-changing public health realities and legal requirements, the pandemic remains the main challenge for Ruhr-Universität,” says Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Professor Kornelia Freitag. “By continuing to use a vignette, we wish to make is as simple as possible to check the student’s health status, both for the students and for the lecturers, in order to ensure that courses run smoothly. We are confident that the blue vignette will work just as well as the green one.”
Period of validity has changed
In order to make it easier to verify 2G status (vaccinated, recovered), RUB introduced the green vignette for the winter semester 2021/2022. This was done in the belief that the 2G status of students who received this vignette would last until the end of the semester (31 March 2022). However, with the Corona Protection Ordinance of 20 January 2022 now in force, the validity periods have changed as follows:
- recovered: only 90 days instead of six months
- vaccinated once with Johnson & Johnson vaccine no longer counts as basic immunisation
This means that a percentage of students who received the green vignette no longer have 2G status. Lecturers can therefore no longer reliably verify the students’ 2G status on the basis of the green vignette. The 3G regulations still apply to all courses offered at RUB. In order to facilitate the verification of students’ 3G status under the current conditions and in view of the upcoming examination period, RUB has therefore introduced the blue vignette. It will remain valid indefinitely as long as the political framework doesn’t change.