The AstraZeneca vaccine is becoming less popular, to the chagrin of the Ministry of Health.
And for good reason, the orders and counter-orders follow one another.
First reserved for under 65s due to a lack of data on its effectiveness in the elderly, it was then extended to seniors, before being suspended for those under 55.
As a result, only 75% of the AstraZeneca doses received were injected, compared to 90% for the Pfizer vaccine.
Last Sunday, more than a million doses were waiting in the refrigerators of doctors and pharmacists, while two million more were yet to be delivered this week.
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"
If we do not sell the doses of AstraZeneca, we are not certain to reach 30 million on June 15,
" worried a high-ranking government source to AFP, pleading for "to
put the French facing their responsibilities
”. To overcome this mistrust, Olivier Véran announced on April 30 on Franceinfo to have "seized" the High Authority of Health (HAS) in order to study the possibility of allowing all volunteers, whatever their age, to be vaccinated at the AstraZeneca.
Contacted by
Le
Figaro
, the HAS confirmed the establishment of a temporary Scientific Council within the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM), in charge of research on the risks of thrombosis by age group, all vaccines confused.
"
The work is continuing, the first results should appear within a few days
", indicated the independent public authority.
A "
discharge
" to overcome risks
At the microphone of
Franceinfo
, the Minister of Health also put forward the idea of a "
discharge
" on the German model, in order to "
give the freedom of choice to the French by providing them with clear, loyal, appropriate information
". "
In Germany, some regions have said that whatever your age, you can receive AstraZeneca, they explain the risks to you, and you sign a waiver,
" he explained. An exemption from responsibilities that would allow the authorities to save time, while waiting for reliable data. However, once the agreement of the HAS has been given, the minister will not be at the end of his sentences to pass this proposal. "
The first echoes that I have are not necessarily very excited about this idea,
”he admitted.
In fact, on Europe 1, Jean-Paul Hamon, honorary president of the Federation of Doctors of France, declared himself rather skeptical and "
very surprised
" by this suggestion from the government.
"
It is to relieve the State of its responsibilities,
" he said.
"
It would surprise me that this proposal goes to the end
".
Read also: A lead to explain the rare thromboses linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine
Since mid-March when cases of thrombosis were detected in several newly vaccinated people, the vaccine from the Anglo-Swedish laboratory has been the subject of all suspicion. As a precaution, several European countries have since suspended or reserved it for only part of their population. In France, a HAS opinion issued on April 9 recommended that first-time vaccinees with AstraZeneca under 55 years of age be reserved for their second injection with a messenger RNA vaccine, produced by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. “What
was done from there is a calculation of the relative risk between this complication and the risk of developing a serious form of covid and this according to age
“, Explained Alain Fisher, chairman of the Vaccine Strategy Orientation Council, on RMC in mid-April, justifying the authorities' trial and error.