The government "is getting into the starting blocks to be ready to distribute a vaccine against Covid-19" from January if it is validated, assured its spokesperson Gabriel Attal on Tuesday.
The Castex government has budgeted 1.5 billion euros for 2021 for this.
"We are preparing a vaccination campaign to be ready when a vaccine is validated by European and national health authorities and to be able, in the process, to immediately launch a vaccine," said the Secretary of State on France 2.
"The European Medicines Agency indicated this weekend that it thought it could give validation to a first vaccine by the end of the year so that it can be distributed from January", he recalled, agreeing to the possibility of a campaign early in the year.
The "least risk" criterion
After the announcement last week by the American laboratories Pfizer and German BioNTech of a vaccine effective at 90%, the biotech company Moderna said Monday that its had an effectiveness of 94.5%.
"At this stage, I recall that phase III is not finished, that these are preliminary results, that it is better to be careful", however underlined the Minister.
But “we must anticipate, that means reserving doses of vaccine.
We are doing it at European level: several hundred million doses have been reserved with different laboratories, ”he explained.
“Five contracts have already been finalized, a sixth will be, we hope, in the coming days”, with Moderna, and “we budgeted”, and “set aside a sum of money, 1.5 billion euros for 2021 to buy a first series of vaccines, ”said Gabriel Attal.
Regarding the choice of vaccine (s), he assured that “the one that gives us the most chances of containing the epidemic” would be selected.
"There is a battery of criteria and that's why we have health authorities who can enlighten us", but "obviously, there is one criterion on which we will not deviate, it is that of the safety and that of the least risk ”for health, he insisted.
"I believe that we will take the vaccine which is available as quickly as possible and which guarantees significant effectiveness," he added.
Traders soon fixed
Asked about the urgent demands of traders, supported by elected officials, in favor of a reopening from November 27, the day of Black Friday, Gabriel Attal indicated that "the decision will be taken during next week".
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“Today the objective is December 1, but obviously if there is very good news, that the situation continues to accelerate in a positive way, obviously we will do our best so that traders can work.
Our wish is that traders can reopen as quickly as possible, ”he said.
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As for restaurateurs, the government will give them "prospects at the beginning of December", but there is for the moment "no decision taken on the calendar", indicated Gabriel Attal.
However, he stressed that the health situation "remains serious", with "still more patients in the hospital today than at the peak of the first wave", and that if "a beginning of stabilization" is observed in the hospital is not yet “a decline”.
The spokesperson recalled that traders could meanwhile benefit from aid of up to 10,000 euros to compensate for the loss of turnover in November, that they will be able to request it "at the very beginning of December" and will see it. paid "in the following days".