The vaccination campaign is too slow, insists the High Authority for Health.

“We must correct” the insufficient proportion of French people having received a second booster of anti-Covid vaccine, pleaded this Monday on France Info Elisabeth Bouvet, president of the Technical Commission on Vaccinations.

As France faces an 8th epidemic wave, some 17 million people - over 60s, nursing home residents, immunocompromised, pregnant women, caregivers, etc.

- are encouraged to receive an additional dose of anti-Covid serum, with vaccines adapted to Omicron.

"Protecting vulnerable people"

Among eligible French people, “we are only less than 50% who have made their second reminder”, noted Professor Bouvet, and “we must correct that since there is currently a new epidemic wave” and that “the factors of risk and vulnerability to Covid-19 always affect the same people”.

“It is really time to carry out a new recall with suitable vaccines”, she insisted.

With the new vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech adapted to the subvariants of Omicron, "we can expect even greater protection and longer duration".

And "what is really important is to protect fragile people", "it is not to vaccinate the general population which has no risk, which can of course become infected, but which will not of serious forms”, defended the president of the HAS vaccination commission.

Contaminations are on the rise again

In his eyes, "it is possible that we can achieve something regular for fragile people, that is to say to regularly, periodically, give a booster injection to boost immunity against the viruses that are circulating" .

The circulation of the Covid virus has intensified in France since the rebound in the epidemic started in early September, and hospitalizations are also increasing, with now nearly 700 new daily admissions.

No "variant villain on the horizon"

The eighth wave is "real" but "does not worry us", said Friday Brigitte Autran, the president of Covars who succeeded the scientific council, inviting the French to "get vaccinated" if they are at risk and to "start again to wear masks in transport and in all populated places.

"For the moment, there is no specter of a nasty variant coming on the horizon (…) That's what could change the situation", judged this epidemiologist.

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