Emmanuel Macron welcomed Tuesday, April 20, during a weekly "
vaccines
" meeting at the Elysee Palace that vaccination "is
accelerating
", with nearly 18 million people having received a first dose, acknowledging however "
difficulties to convince on the AstraZeneca
”.
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Read also: Vaccines: Can the European Union do without AstraZeneca next year?
"
Last week, we had 2.5 million injected doses, the highest figure over a week,
" he said.
The executive has set a goal of reaching 20 million vaccinated with at least one dose by mid-May, a goal that seems achievable at the current rate.
During this "
vaccines
"
meeting that
Emmanuel Macron gathers every Tuesday evening, in the presence in particular of Prime Minister Jean Castex, Minister of Health Olivier Véran and spokesperson Gabriel Attal, he stressed that France had "
4 , 5 million vaccinated with the two doses (4.8 million, according to the Directorate General of Health) which places us among the countries which have vaccinated their adult populations the most within the European Union
”.
"
Almost 70% of those over 70 are protected,
" he added.
Improve the vaccination of health workers
The Head of State, however, mentioned several difficulties, including the reluctance of the French on the AstraZeneca vaccine, the mobilization of health personnel that must be intensified and the organization of vaccination of priority professions. "
We have difficulties to convince on the AstraZeneca, we must think in terms of communication and ability to convince,
" he continued. You have to "
know how to maintain this rhythm and how to improve the levers
", he continued. Recalling that 20,000 health professionals were on the bridge in the 1,700 vaccination centers last week, he estimated that "
if we want to continue to build up and last it is likely that we must improve this mobilization
".
He finally welcomed the arrival of new Pfizer doses in the EU in the second quarter (7 million for France) and the green light Tuesday from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to the vaccine from the American group Johnson and Johnson, who "
is considered safe
" by the EMA, he added. The EMA felt that blood clots should be listed as a "
very rare
" side effect of this vaccine.
