Speaking a day after restaurant terraces, cinemas and museums were allowed to open for the first time in six months, Prime Minister Jean Castex said those aged 18 and over would be allowed to receive jabs from 31 May.
“We must ensure the highest possible vaccination rate before the delivery of many vaccine doses by the end of June,” Castex said on Thursday during a trip to a vaccination centre in Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris.
As things stand, only people aged over 50 may book appointments for Covid-19 shots. Those aged 18 and over had been told they’d need to wait until 15 June, before Castex announced the change in plans.
People working in priority professions – teachers, police officers, cashiers and bus drivers – will be entitled to be vaccinated a week earlier, from 24 May.
Numbers game
Epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet, a member of the scientific council advising the government on its coronavirus strategy, told BFMTV the number of infections in mid-June would determine how the virus would behave over the summer.
Arnaud Fontanet prévoit "un été bien plus tranquille" si "on descend à 5000 cas par jour au 15 juin"https://t.co/kKDP0czwZS pic.twitter.com/EOYgLlWUa5
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) May 21, 2021
"If we get below 5,000 cases per day on 15 June, we will have a much quieter summer," he said. “Once 50 to 60 percent of the population is vaccinated, we can start to relax.”
France is on track to vaccinate 30 million people – half the population – by 15 June.
On Thursday, a daily record of 672,339 vaccine doses were administered, while the number of patients in intensive care units fell to 3,769 – down 93 from the day before.
More than 108,300 people have died in France since the epidemic began.
