While the government still counts on the acceleration of the vaccination campaign to fight the coronavirus epidemic, the European Medicines Agency is due to issue its opinion on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday.

In France, hospital pressure remains strong, with more than 5,900 patients in intensive care.

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In France, weeks go by, but the improvement is long overdue.

While the government still hopes to ease restrictions against the coronavirus epidemic in mid-May, the epidemic situation remains very fragile, with more than 5,900 patients in intensive care, and a Brazilian variant that worries health authorities, even if it remains in the minority on the territory.

The executive therefore continues to bet on the vaccination campaign which continues, and could soon count on the reinforcement of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is due to issue its opinion on Tuesday on the evaluation of the safety "of this single-dose vaccine. Follow the developments live. 

The main information to remember

  • European Medicines Agency to vote on safety of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

  • France has more than 5,900 intensive care patients

  • The WHO emergency committee is against the vaccine passport 

Europe: what verdict for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is due to issue its opinion on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday.

The EMA, which has its headquarters in Amsterdam, must give, a priori at 5 pm, a "virtual press conference on the conclusions about the safety assessment" of this single-dose vaccine.

This decision is all the more important as several European countries, including France, are counting on this vaccine to speed up their immunization campaign. However, the uncertainty on the viability of the vaccine remains whole, while the American health authorities last Tuesday recommended "a pause" in the use of Johnson & Johnson to investigate the appearance of serious cases of blood clots in several people in the United States.

However, its use should be re-authorized, perhaps accompanied by "restrictions", and a decision should be made public by Friday, White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.

"I think (vaccination) will resume, maybe with restrictions. I'm not sure what it will be, if it will be age or gender related, or if it will just be accompanied by a warning, "he said.

More than 5,900 people in intensive care

The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized in intensive care has returned to above 5,900, after several days below this bar, according to figures released Monday by Public Health France.

In total, there were 5,970 people in critical care services, up from 5,893 the day before.

In 24 hours, 502 patients were admitted to these services, against 233 patients the day before.

The total number of hospitalized Covid patients is also on the rise, with 31,214 patients, against 30,789 the day before.

A total of 2,066 people have been hospitalized in the past 24 hours.

The number of new cases recorded in 24 hours amounted to 6,696, against 29,344 the day before.

The positivity rate is 9.8% over the last seven days.

Regarding deaths, 449 people have died from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, for a total of 101,209 since the start of the epidemic (including 75,039 in hospital).

The improvement is long overdue, the variants worry

At the start of the second week of unified vacation, the situation on the epidemic front is still fragile with a high plateau.

And as contaminations remain at a high level, many specialists believe that it will still be necessary to wait several weeks before an improvement in the fight against the virus.

Especially since the school holidays, for which the government has unified the dates throughout the territory on the occasion of the new semi-containment measures imposed at the end of March, are coming to an end soon. Elementary students must return to class on April 26, middle and high school students at the beginning of May. And this while the government still hopes to start loosening the stranglehold on restrictions in mid-May, an objective put forward by Emmanuel Macron, while some neighboring countries have already started a deconfinement. 

Another concern of the political and health authorities, the variants, in particular the "BR-P1", which causes havoc in Brazil, but is still very little present in metropolitan France.

In an attempt to prevent their spread, the government on Saturday announced restrictions on travel from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, all affected by the Brazilian variant, and South Africa, where another mutation of the virus.

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Flights are temporarily suspended with Brazil and travelers from these countries will have to undergo repeated tests and a 10-day quarantine, controlled.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal assured Monday on Europe 1 that failure to comply with it would be punished by fines of "1,500 euros, 3,000 euros in the event of a repeat offense", "an extremely strict framework" and "dissuasive ".

Read her interview here

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Restrictions that will also apply to travelers arriving from Guyana, a territory which has more than 700 kilometers of border with Brazil and where the Brazilian variant has already become dominant among infected people.

A WHO committee against the vaccine passport 

The World Health Organization's emergency committee on Covid, responsible for guiding the head of the WHO, said on Monday it was not in favor of a compulsory vaccination passport for international travelers.

France, for its part, has started its experiments with a "health pass" which could prefigure the device expected at the end of June by Brussels to certify the results of tests and anti-Covid vaccination, and "facilitate" travel within the EU.

Vaccine for all in the United States

In the United States, the huge current vaccination campaign continues at a rapid pace despite the suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday after the discovery of six cases of women who developed serious cases of blood clots, including one fatal.

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Some 50.4% of Americans over 18 have been able to benefit from at least one dose of the vaccine, and 32.5% are fully vaccinated, including seniors 65 and over, the main federal agency said on Sunday. public health of the country.

In total, more than 131.2 million people have received at least one injection and the authorities planned to allow all citizens to be vaccinated as of Monday.

"We have enough vaccines, I must be protected, and protect your neighbors and your family," President Joe Biden said in a video uploaded by the White House.

"So please get vaccinated." 

Rio reopens its beaches, Portugal its restaurants 

Despite still very high mortality figures and a very contagious "Brazilian" variant, Rio de Janeiro reopened its beaches on Monday, after doing the same in early April with its bars and restaurants.

For its part, Portugal entered the same day into the third phase of a gradual deconfinement started a month ago, with the reopening of shopping centers, the interiors of cafes and restaurants, theaters, high schools. and universities.

More than 3 million deaths worldwide

The pandemic has killed at least 3,020,765 people around the world since the onset of the disease, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Monday at 10 a.m. GMT. The United States is the country with the highest death toll with 567,217 deaths, followed by Brazil (374,682), Mexico (212,339), India (178,769) and the United Kingdom (127,270).