The light is visible at the end of the tunnel, but it will take at least another six months to reach it.

This is the prediction made on Friday December 18 by Professor Jean-François Delfraissy in view of the progress in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic.

While emphasizing "the strong hope" represented by the vaccine, the President of the Scientific Council warned BFMTV and RMC against any precipitous triumphalism.

"We have six months to go that are still difficult, 2021 resembling 2020 and in particular the first three or four months because this virus is sensitive to the climate," said Professor Delfraissy.

The marketing of the first vaccines against Covid-19 should finally make it possible to overcome this health crisis, he said, indicating that he would be vaccinated.

But "if we look at the capacity that we are going to have in France but also in other European countries to vaccinate ourselves, it will take time," he added, explaining that the production of vaccines would be longer than what was imagined two or three weeks ago.

"We will not have vaccine shortages but we will have something that will be spread over time."

Vaccinations in the EU from the 27

"There are 22 million more fragile people in France," he said, a figure almost 50% greater than the audiences identified by the executive as part of its vaccination plan.

“We will probably need until May to vaccinate them and then we will discuss vaccination in the general population,” he continued.

Across the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday that vaccination against Covid-19 will begin on December 27, 28 and 29.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will look on December 21 - a week earlier than expected - on the fate of the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech.

The Commission had specified that it would then give its authorization within two days of this green light.

Once again the epicenter of the pandemic since October, alongside the United States, Europe is tightening restrictions in an attempt to contain the pandemic while waiting for vaccines.

With AFP and Reuters

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