After repeating over and over that the most vulnerable should receive a third dose of vaccine, the government is stepping up its campaign.
Emmanuel Macron announced this Tuesday evening, during a television address addressed to the French, that a booster dose would now be necessary for those over 65 to maintain the validity of their health pass from mid-December.
“Studies show that six months after the vaccine, immunity wanes. The solution is the injection of an additional, booster dose, ”explained the Head of State. Wishing to "accelerate" the recall campaign, the President of the Republic announced, "that from December 15 they will have to justify a recall to extend the validity of your health pass", The over 65s represent at least 14 million people, of whom 1.5 million did not even receive a first injection. So far, only 7.7 million people have been eligible for this booster dose.
According to data this Tuesday, a little more than 43% of people called to receive this third injection had made the process.
Almost 3.8 million inhabitants therefore received a booster dose, including 3.2 million aged 65 or over.
These 3.2 million represent 55% of residents aged 65 and over who were fully vaccinated at least six months ago (and therefore eligible).
A third dose that "boosts" immunity
If the seniors did not rush to the vaccination centers, since Friday and the announcement of the upcoming speech by Emmanuel Macron, the pace of making an appointment for a third dose seemed to be accelerating.
Almost 100,000 appointments for a third dose were taken this Monday on Doctolib (which does not represent all the injections), ie twice as many as the previous Mondays.
Today, are eligible for a booster dose of the anti-Covid vaccine - which can be done six months after the last injection - people over 65 years old, nursing home residents, people at risk, those affected one or more co-morbidities, as well as those working with these audiences and firefighters.
Those who have received a dose of Janssen vaccine may also receive a booster dose, along with Pfizer-BioNTech serum, at least four weeks after their last injection.
Read alsoConditioning the health pass to a third dose of vaccine: why it is not so simple
"The third dose plays a
booster
effect
on immunity, and strengthens protection from the point of view of infection and asymptomatic forms", explained this Monday to Parisian Jonathan Roux, epidemiologist at the School of Advanced Studies in Health public (EHESP) of Rennes.
As for the risk of hospitalization, even if it increases over time, "it remains at a low level", continued the expert.
A decision that comes as an epidemic resumption is confirmed in France.
Indeed, according to data published Tuesday evening by Public Health France, 6,851 people are hospitalized due to a Covid-19 infection, against 6,680 a week ago.
Hospitals recorded 409 new admissions in 24 hours.
