France is due to restart use of the vaccine on Friday, a day after the European Medicines Agency said it was convinced that the benefits of getting the shot outweighed any risks.
It is “very effective against the most severe forms of Covid and very safe,” the EU health watchdog declared, while admitting it could not rule out altogether a link with a small number of blood disorders.
More than a dozen nations had suspended its use following an investigation into reports of blood clots.
Prime Minister Jean Castex is to get vaccinated on Friday to show his confidence in the vaccine. The 55-year-old has no underlying health conditions so did not qualify for vaccination under France’s 'most vulnerable first' system.
3rd lockdown
In a TV address on Thursday evening, Castex announced a new month-long lockdown for Paris and other parts of the country beginning at midnight Friday. It follows a faltering vaccine rollout and the spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants.
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Castex reiterated the government’s goal of vaccinating 10 million people by mid-April, 20 million by mid-May and 30 million by mid-June, which he said amounted to “two thirds of the population aged over 18”.
The Covid-19 vaccine campaign will cost between €3-4 bn, junior budget minister Olivier Dussopt told Europe 1 radio on Friday.
According to the latest data published by Covidtracker 5,630,671 people in France have received a first dose of the vaccine (8.40 percent of the population), 2,297,100 people have received the second dose of vaccine, (3.40 percent of the population).
“We are doing everything we can to win this race against time, and we will get there,” the prime minister said.
Health Minister Oliver Véran said he hoped “with these braking measures we will pass the peak of this wave and on the other side of this wave we will find spring and unlike last year the protection of the population through vaccination”.
Germany is also to resume use of the AstraZeneca vaccine; Berlin said two large vaccination centres that offer the AstraZeneca shot to people in the German capital will reopen Friday.
(with newswires)
