France wants to speed up the vaccination rate by extending the injection interval

France has taken steps to speed up the vaccination rate. For example, from Wednesday the period between the first and second corona prick with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine will be extended from four to six weeks. As a result, more people can get a first shot.

The Minister of Health Olivier Veran has announced the extension of the injection interval in the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. “That ensures that we can vaccinate faster, without reducing protection,” said the minister. He further announced that all people over 55 can get the AstraZeneca vaccine and not just the vulnerable.

Trust

French confidence in AstraZeneca’s vaccine has plummeted since it became known that it may be linked to thrombosis. In France, one poll see that now 71 percent of the French do not trust AstraZeneca.

The health minister says there is no reason to mistrust the AstraZeneca vaccine. “This vaccine is very effective and protects against severe forms of Covid-19. This is what all health authorities are telling us,” says Veran in Le Journal du Dimanche.

Vaccination started slowly in France. But the backlog has now been made up. The goal of delivering 10 million first doses by mid-April was met a week before the deadline.

Strict lockdown

However, there are still concerns about the high number of infections, despite the strict lockdown which was instituted last week. Yesterday, more than 43,000 infections were detected and about 5,769 people are in the ICU.

Still, Veran says the lockdown is working. “We expect the decline to come after a period of stabilization. But for that we have to keep going.”

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