French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that vaccinations against Covid-19 will be open to all adults from June 15, regardless of any medical condition.
People over 50 will be able to sign up for a jab from May 15, he added on Twitter, compared to an age limit of 55 currently.
Health Minister Olivier Véran said earlier that vaccinations would be open this weekend to another four million people in France, with people aged 18-50 with chronic illnesses, such as heart conditions, high blood pressure or obesity, now eligible.
More than 15 million people have received a first Covid-19 jab in France, corresponding to 29 percent of the adult population.
Some 6.2 million people, just under 12 percent of adults, have now also received a second dose.
Macron's announcement comes a day after he said France would start relaxing its nightly curfew and allow cafés, bars and restaurants to offer outdoor service starting May 19.
The French president made clear that this timetable was provisional and could be delayed in areas where intensive care units are close to saturation or the Covid-19 incidence rate exceeds 400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
France’s main Covid-19 indicators all showed some signs of improvement on Wednesday, with the seven-day moving average of daily new infections falling to 27,366 compared with 38,000 when the lockdown began.
But authorities are still reporting some 30,000 virus infections each day and French hospitals are still close to being overwhelmed, with more than 5,800 critically ill patients in French intensive care units on Thursday.
France has recorded 5.57 million Covid-19 cases and 103,947 deaths so far since the start of the pandemic.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
