Paris (AFP)
The criticisms on a supposed slowness of the beginnings of the anti-Covid vaccination in France are "a little derisory" and fall under a "false quarrel", defended Wednesday the Pr Alain Fischer, the "mister vaccine" appointed by government, inviting to plan "in a few weeks" to judge progress.
In a few weeks, "the rate of vaccination and the number of people vaccinated, compared to the population, will be of the same order of magnitude between the different European countries," said Professor Fischer on LCI.
Politicians and some doctors expressed their incomprehension on Wednesday, while France vaccinated less than 200 people in three days, against 78,000 in Germany and 8,300 in Italy.
"Comparisons of the number of people vaccinated after a few days do not make sense," said Fischer, rejecting the idea of "small steps forward".
In the medium term, "it will happen in France as it happens in other European countries", he assured.
"During the month of January and early February we should be able to vaccinate more than 700,000 people in nursing homes and a number of health professionals who work there, and then millions of people," continued Mr. Fischer.
The choice to vaccinate as a priority the residents of retirement homes "takes more time" because "the vaccine must go to the people and not the people to the vaccine", he argued, also evoking the complexity of delivery of the doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which should be stored at -80 degrees.
For his part, government spokesman Gabriel Attal assured Wednesday that the goal of vaccinating a million people at risk by the end of February would be met.
If vaccination starts "very gradually", it is because the government "pays extreme attention to the issue of consent and medical support," he said on BFMTV.
But the campaign will reach a satisfactory cruising speed "as early as next week", which will "vaccinate more people", continued Mr. Attal.
© 2020 AFP