The vaccination campaign continues in France… This is what said Olivier Véran in a nutshell this Thursday April 22 during a press brief to address vaccination in France. First, the Prime Minister addressed the vaccination situation in France: "our vaccination campaign goes on and goes on well", he explained. He went on: "By the end of the week, 14 million people will have been given the first dose of Covid vaccine, which is a quarter of the adult population".
He goes on: "today, we have one of the fastest vaccination pace in Europe, enabling us to vaccinate about 2.5 million people every week. This is the outcome of an exemplary organization and logistics". He reminded caregivers' commitment to the vaccination campaign.
Restoring AstraZeneca vaccine's image...
As for Olivier Véran, he chose to answer the French's questions about vaccination. He addressed AstraZeneca vaccine given the cold shoulder by many French people, reminding how it works: "AstraZeneca is a very standard vaccine", he starts. He goes on: "it's a vaccine that will stimulate one's immune system to teach it to recognize coronavirus if it happens to infect one".
The Health Minister goes on, speaking about the likely side effects and intended to be reassuring on the matter: "In less than 10% of the cases, you can have a fever, it passes fast enough with painkiller and without complications". He continues: "in very rare cases, it can cause thromboses, that is to say the creation of blood clots that can clog up the veinous circulation and cause more severe adverse effects, but this is very rare. It represents about five cases for one million people vaccinated".
He added an example: "As a comparison, if you take the plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean, there is also a risk to have thromboses because you will be moving less and this risk is 50 times higher than if you are vaccinated with AstraZeneca. [...] In France, we chose to limit this risk by only proposing the vaccine to people aged 55+", he also reminded, explaining that "about 50,000 French people have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca".
Vaccination open to new age groups
Véran also addressed the opening of the vaccination - starting Monday April 26 - to people living with someone immunosuppressed, namely unable to face pathogen agents, microbs, and viruses. "However old you are, if you are over the age of majority and living under the same roof as somone immunosuppressed, vaccination will open to you starting next Monday, with AstraZeneca if you are 55+, Pfizer or Moderna if you are under 55 years of age", he explains.
Same thing for people suffering from obesity who should be able to get vaccinated from mid-May: "obesity is indeed a risk factor for severe disease. [...] I referred to scientific committees to determine when and how we can open vaccinatiokn to the French who even though are under 50 years old suffer from severe obesity. The answer is to be given soon, but it is likely it can start from mid-May", he also said.
And quickly: vaccinating children is not on the agenda, three quarters of the health workforces have been vaccinated, and more easily accessible slots for elderly people who have not been vaccinated yet are available. Good news amid the fight against Covid.
