Nearly 50.5% of French people now have their complete vaccination schedule.
Good news ?
Yes of course, but still a long way from the government's objectives.
The authorities are continuing the race for vaccination against Covid-19 and the Delta variant to go beyond the milestone of 50% of French people fully vaccinated.
With this variant, the collective immunity threshold will be reached once 90% of the French population has received their injections.
4.7 million injections were performed last week, "the best week since the start of the campaign" in December 2020, according to the Ministry of Health, which hopes to "do even better" this week and next.
"Five million new vaccination slots will be opened in the next fifteen days," announced the ministry in a press release.
The goal is now to convince the "hesitant", the elderly, pregnant women or vulnerable populations while contaminations are on the rise in France.
Read alsoCovid-19: in Europe, 70% of adults have received at least one dose of vaccine
Contaminations still on the rise
The government does not want to release the pressure because the surge in contamination continues with 26,871 cases recorded on Tuesday, the highest figure since the end of April. At the hospital, the number of patients reached 7,137 on Tuesday, or 557 more patients in 24 hours. 121 people were admitted to critical care services, bringing the total number of Covid-19 patients in these services to 978 people.
According to the Ministry of Health, France, which was behind in vaccination on its European neighbors, has "reduced the gap with Italy and Belgium".
It remains behind Spain and Portugal but the country is in “a very rapid catching-up phase”.
During a trip to Seine-Saint-Denis, Prime Minister Jean Castex said he was convinced that the new target of 50 million first-time vaccinated by the end of August would be reached.
It will bring together the ministers concerned by the health crisis early Wednesday morning.
Objective, to convince the reluctant
Since mid-July, the president as well as members of the government and of the scientific council have been increasing calls for vaccination among the most reluctant.
The latest: "Get vaccinated for yourself and for France", launched by Emmanuel Macron this Tuesday from Polynesia.
"I tell you with great force: we are the nation of Pasteur, we are the nation of the Enlightenment," he insisted.
The president spoke on Sunday from a French Polynesian hospital in Tahiti, to recall the crucial role of vaccination in the fight against Covid-19: "We have a weapon that must be used, the vaccine".
VIDEO.
"We have a weapon that must be used, the vaccine": Emmanuel Macron encourages Polynesians to be vaccinated
Another call, this time to pregnant women. The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran put on his doctor's clothes to vaccinate his government colleague, Olivia Grégoire, five months pregnant. An act of communication relayed on the Secretary of State's Twitter to encourage pregnant women to get vaccinated despite their fears. After having vaccinated it, Olivier Véran underlined the positive effect of vaccination, assuring, by citing studies of Public Health France and Inserm, that one observes already "a decorrelation between hospitalizations and diagnoses". “There are fewer patients hospitalized for severe forms of Covid in our country than there were in previous waves for an identical number of infected,” he said.The authorities also want to focus on the vaccination of the over 80s, which leveled off and has started to increase again with now more than 82% of first-time recipients.
💉 Pregnancy does not protect against # COVID19, the vaccine does.
Thanks to @olivierveran and @ hopital_necker for this second dose ✅ pic.twitter.com/3afUASSTAj
- Olivia Gregoire (@oliviagregoire) July 27, 2021
Same story for the "Mr. Vaccine" who advises the government: "It is urgent to be vaccinated", hammered Tuesday on France Inter Alain Fischer. Because of the Delta variant, "an increase in the number of hospitalizations of more than 60% in one week and more than 80% for passages in intensive care". The outbreak is very visible in tourist areas (Atlantic coast, Alpes-Maritimes, Hérault and Corsica) where many prefectures have reimposed restrictions including the outdoor mask. Faced with Delta, "we have no choice", we need "stronger incentives than those which were (until now) in the field of explanation," said the professor. For Alain Fischer, attention must be focused on those "hesitant" to vaccination,many of whom are "people in great precariousness or cultural groups who are less able to hear official explanations".
