Turnaround for AstraZeneca, unemployment insurance and Chinese billionaires: the information to remember at noon

The info not to be missed

The High Authority for Health has made new recommendations around vaccination, "in view of the current worrying epidemiological context with the predominance of the English variant".

In an opinion, published on Tuesday, she advises to extend the vaccination with AstraZeneca to over 65s.

The day before, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, had announced its extension to 65-75 years "with comorbidities".

Until now, this vaccine has been reserved for healthcare professionals and patients aged 50 to 64 with comorbid conditions.

This is not the only change advocated by the HAS to speed up the vaccination campaign, since it also recommends that pharmacists, nurses and midwives can perform injections of the three products authorized in France.

So far, they could only use AstraZeneca's vaccine, but not Pfizer / BioNTech's or Moderna's.

Another novelty to note about vaccination, the HAS has added psychiatric disorders, dementia, and trisomy 21, in particular, to the list of comorbidities allowing to be vaccinated.

What to also remember

• Unemployment insurance reform is back on the table.

  The Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne, was in a meeting this Tuesday morning with the unions to present to them the government's arbitrations on the subject of the reform of unemployment insurance.

  Decided in July 2019, it has been adapted to the health crisis.

  The part concerning the new method of calculating compensation will come into force on July 1, according to the unions.

  The tightening of the opening of duties is not expected to be implemented until October 1 at the earliest.

• Mediators for saliva tests.

  This is one of the government's promises when two areas have already resumed school after the winter holidays: to reach 300,000 weekly saliva tests in schools by March.

  To get there, Jean-Michel Blanquer announced that 1,700 mediators, students in the health professions, would be recruited.

• Relief in Nigeria.

  The 279 young girls who were kidnapped by armed men from a boarding school in Zamfara State (north-west Nigeria) on the night of February 11 to 12, were released.

  It was the fourth school attack in three months.

The unexpected info

Crisis ?

What crisis?

In China, where the Covid-19 epidemic started, the number of dollar billionaires increased again in 2020, according to the annual ranking of the Hurun cabinet.

The Middle Empire now has 992 super-rich (including Hong Kong), 253 more than last year ... and more than its two pursuers combined, the United States and India.

The richest man in China is the low-key boss of bottled water giant Zhong Shanshan.

As the business world is pulling its tongue out all over the world, another surprisingly surprising figure: Last year China saw "more wealth created than the previous five years combined" despite the epidemic!