Live | Covid-19: “Our collective goal is to reach 20 million booster doses by Christmas” announces Olivier Véran – Bien Public

10:26 am: To travel to Ghana, full vaccination becomes mandatory

Proof of vaccination against Covid-19 is now mandatory for travelers deciding to go to Ghana, which is trying to avoid a fourth wave of infections, health authorities in the West African country announced on Friday. The only exception: for 14 days, unvaccinated Ghanaians abroad and residents currently outside the country will be admitted to the country. “However, they will be vaccinated when they arrive at the airport,” said Ghana’s director general of health services, Patrick Kuma-Aboagye.

10:15 a.m .: Booster dose of Pfizer vaccine administered from January

A third dose of the anti-Covid vaccine from the American laboratory Pfizer will be administered from January in South Africa, the country which has detected the Omicron variant. The first people to get the booster dose will be the over 60s. Scientists are in the process of determining how effective anti-Covid vaccines are against the new variant discovered last month which has an unusual number of mutations.

9:51 am: “Our collective goal is to reach 20 million recalls by Christmas”

“We have set ourselves the collective objective of reaching 20 million reminders by Christmas in our country, ie 500,000, 600,000 vaccinations per day”, announced on Friday the Minister of Health OIivier Véran during a trip to a pharmacy.

9.42am: “We are on a strong dynamic in screening, nearly 6 million tests are performed per week”

“I have authorized pharmacies to open unconditionally on Sundays in December and January given the need for screening and mass vaccination,” Minister of Health OIivier Véran said on Friday. “We are on a strong dynamic in screening, nearly 6 million tests are performed per week, these are record levels and our screening system is holding up. And strong momentum on vaccination: we are 12.5 million French people who have received their reminder. “

8:36 am: “For the moment, there was no question of reintroducing gauges”

“The situation is tense in culture, music and cabarets are particularly affected”, detailed Roselyne Bachelot, Minister of Culture on BFMTV this Friday morning.

The minister also declared that “for the moment, there was no question of reinstating gauges” in cultural places.

8:29 am: “80% of nursing home residents received their booster dose”

On Franceinfo this Friday morning the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Solidarity and Health, in charge of Autonomy, Brigitte Bourguignon specified that “80% of nursing home residents have received their booster dose”.

“The priority was to protect the most vulnerable, as we did in the first wave,” she recalled.

8:13 am: Vaccination open to 5-11 year olds from January 10 in Australia

Australia will begin administering Covid-9 vaccines to children aged 5 to 11 from January 10, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday. So far, only Pfizer’s vaccine has been approved for this age group. A decision on Moderna’s vaccine is expected in the coming weeks.

8:11 am: Pfizer vaccine booster authorized for 16-17 year olds in the United States

The U.S. Medicines Agency (FDA) has cleared booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for young people between the ages of 16 and 17. The age limit for a third dose is therefore lowered to 16 years in the United States.

About 4.7 million 16 and 17 year olds are fully immunized in the country and more than 2.5 million of them received their second dose six months ago. Pfizer’s vaccine is the only one authorized in the United States under the age of 18, from 5 years old for the first two shots.

7:48 am: “We will add eight million meeting slots by the beginning of January”

“We have passed the peak of the fourth wave, of the third wave and we are approaching the peak of the second wave that we experienced a year ago,” said Gabriel Attal, the government spokesperson on RTL. Friday morning. But “fortunately, we have two to three times fewer people hospitalized today thanks to the vaccine,” he added, while refusing to predict when the peak of this 5th wave could be reached.

While new restrictions on the end of year celebrations are not on the agenda, the spokesperson recalled that “last year the French were perfectly responsible, we must not infantilize the French” .

“We will add eight million meeting slots by the beginning of January” also specified the government spokesperson. “Every day you have hundreds of thousands of additional appointments,” he said.

6:57 am: The booster dose can be given 3 months after the last injection

Booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine can be administered “safely and effectively” just three months after the last injection, said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday, which until now recommended waiting six months.

6:22 am: Few serious cases reported with the Omicron variant

The Omicron variant affects more countries in Africa but, “a sign of hope”, hospitalizations remain few in South Africa where it was detected first, said WHO-Africa on Thursday. Likewise, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday that most cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the European Union appeared to be “mild.”

6:10 a.m .: Border closure extended until December 31 in Morocco

Morocco has decided to extend the suspension of passenger flights to and from the country at least until December 31. The kingdom’s air borders have been closed since November 29 due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and the resurgence of the pandemic in Europe. Exceptional repatriation flights are always subject to authorizations from the Moroccan authorities. Passenger maritime links are also suspended until December 31

5:50 a.m .: New measures in Norway and Denmark

Norway is stepping up from this Friday and for four weeks health measures to fight an outbreak of cases, with in particular a limited number of people for home events, including Christmas celebrations, and the wearing of the compulsory mask if a distance social one meter can not be assured.

The Danish government for its part announced on Wednesday a series of measures to curb the new wave of Covid-19. School holidays were supposed to start on December 17 and end on January 3, but schools will close from December 15 until January 5. And from this Friday, the bars and restaurants, where the wearing of the mask is again compulsory, must close at midnight and it will be forbidden to sell alcohol after this time.

5:47 am: Beginning of nightclub closing for 4 weeks

As part of the new anti-Covid measures, it is forbidden from this Friday to dance in bars and restaurants in France. And nightclubs must close their doors. These measures are in effect until January 6 inclusive.

A study published in November in the medical journal The Lancet, the ComCor study by the Institut Pasteur carried out from May 23 to August 13, concluded that nightclubs were “places at high risk of transmission” because they are enclosed spaces with poor ventilation, where the coronavirus can more easily stay suspended in the air. The nightclubs reopened in France on July 9, with health pass, after 16 months of closure.

5:46 am: Update on the epidemic in France

According to data from Public Health France, 13,363 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized on Thursday, against 13,044 on Wednesday. Among these hospitalized people, 2,461 were taken care of in critical care services, against 2,426 the day before. 130 deaths linked to Covid-19 have been recorded.

56,854 contaminations were also recorded on Thursday, a little less than on Wednesday (61,340). The incidence rate amounted Thursday evening to 470 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Finally, Public Health France reported Thursday evening of 59 cases of the Omicron variant detected in France.

5:45 am: Hello everyone and welcome to this live stream dedicated to the news of the Covid-19 pandemic in France and around the world.