Covid-19 in France: Olivier Véran opens the door to a 3rd dose of vaccine in September

Published on : 08/24/2021 – 07:39

Like some countries, France will no doubt offer, from September, a third dose of vaccine against Covid-19. Asked at the microphone of BFMTV on Monday August 23, Olivier Véran confirmed that this scenario is under study.

The Minister of Health has requested the opinion of the High Authority for Health (HAS). This “will inform us soon” about the usefulness of a third dose for the most vulnerable people. According to Olivier Véran, the HAS “will probably tell us to make this third injection in all people aged 65 and over, who are traditionally called upon to be vaccinated against the flu, and in those, younger, suffering from diseases. chronic, which are very fragile “.

“We could start at the beginning of September. There would necessarily be a delay of at least six months between the second and the third injection,” added the minister. Elsewhere in the world, Israel has already passed the course on this question: since August 1, those over 60 years of age who are vaccinated can, under certain conditions, receive a third dose. Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States will also offer a third dose from September.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already given its point of view: “the current data does not indicate that the boosters are necessary” and we must “wait for science to tell us when the boosters are necessary , which groups of people and which vaccines need boosters, “said Soumya Swaminathan, the UN agency’s chief scientist, on Aug. 18 in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition, WHO advocates prioritizing areas with low vaccination rates above all.

“Less worry than a month ago”, but vigilance must not be relaxed

In France, there were 11,007 hospitalized patients on Monday, including 2,215 in intensive care, far from the peak of the third wave. “This is the result of the vaccination and the health pass”, assured BFMTV Olivier Véran, satisfied with the support of the French to the latest measures taken. However, the minister warned about the possible consequences of the end of the holidays and the return of French people from areas most affected by Covid-19 this summer, especially in the south of the country. If he believes that the current situation allows us to “look ahead with less concern than a month ago”, he calls on everyone to be “extremely vigilant”.

The situation is particularly worrying in the French overseas territories. In Guadeloupe and Martinique, “the hospitals are packed,” noted Olivier Véran, who “sees the difference between a territory vaccinated (the metropolis, Editor’s note) and one that is not”. “The absolute urgency is that the remaining 15% of French people (not vaccinated) go to be vaccinated”, he added.

The Minister of Health also declared that, according to the analyzes of the Pasteur Institute, France could “have reached the peak of resuscitation in a few days” before a possible “stabilization of the entries and exits in intensive care”. The country could thus “avoid the saturation of hospitals” and then “hope for a decrease”.

Since the start of the health crisis, 113,480 people have died from Covid-19 in France. In addition, 47,620,552 people received at least one injection, or 70.6% of the total population, and 41,637,794 people now have a complete vaccination schedule, or 61.8% of the total population.

With AFP and Reuters