• As the coronavirus epidemic rebounds slightly, the government is trying to encourage the most fragile people to receive a third dose of the vaccine.

  • But for the moment, only 2.5 million people out of the 6.8 million eligible for it have carried out this vaccination booster.

  • The government could therefore integrate this third dose into the health pass, as requested by some members of the majority.

Will a new dose of vaccine soon be necessary to have a valid health pass? Gabriel Attal stressed Wednesday that the coronavirus "was progressing" again in France, with 5,400 cases detected per day on average. “The signs of an epidemic resumption continue. It is a slight recovery, but sensitive ”, indicated the spokesman of the government at the exit of the Council of Ministers. The executive, however, hopes to spend a "relatively calm winter" thanks to the high vaccination coverage, while "more than 80% of eligible French people are fully vaccinated".

But to spend Christmas in peace, Gabriel Attal appealed to the over 65s and the most vulnerable, urging them to carry out their vaccination booster, "essential and urgent".

Will the government go so far as to integrate it into the health pass, as some macronists wish?

"We see that it slows down, the figure is still too low"

This call for recall is not trivial.

For the moment, only 2.5 million people out of the 6.8 million eligible for it have had their vaccination booster (usually the third dose), six months after their last injection.

It is therefore about a third of the people targeted for the moment, in particular the over 65s living at home, those suffering from serious diseases and comorbidities or even residents in nursing homes.

“We see that it slows down, the figure is still too low.

However, in terms of health, there is a need for this booster dose, because we now know that a sudden drop in antibodies can occur from the sixth month ”, explains Anne Genetet, Member of the French Abroad, says -speak of the LREM group and doctor by training.

“The role of the state is to protect its fellow citizens, so we have to go faster.

"

"Is it necessary or not, to keep the benefit of your pass, a third dose when you are particularly fragile?"

I do not have the answer but I asked the question ”, kicked in touch the Minister of Health Olivier Véran, Tuesday in the Senate, referring to the opinion of the health authorities - Committee of orientation of the vaccine strategy, High Authority for Health and Scientific Council.

"So we may have to go through an electroshock"

“The idea is gaining ground because the vaccine booster needs to be amplified.

The health authorities should make a decision in the coming weeks, ”confirms a government source, specifying that only vulnerable groups would be affected.

“This call has been launched for several weeks, and it turns out that the craze for this third dose is not very strong. We will therefore perhaps have to go through an electroshock, by forcing this recall through the health pass, as the Head of State had done to encourage vaccination in July ”, assures the deputy of Gironde Bérangère Couillard, carries -speaking of the LREM group. “It is absolutely necessary because a third dose is needed for the most fragile. One could imagine a margin of about six to eight months after the last injection, and if the reminder is not carried out, the pass is deactivated ”, pleads Anne Genetet.

If the government remains very cautious today, relying on the decision of the health authorities to decide, it is because the health pass is still so explosive.

Its extension until the end of July 2022 almost turned into a fiasco for the majority in the Assembly last week, with very close votes.

And the text, debated in the Senate this Thursday, still promises agitated debates while the right-wing majority largely wishes to amend it.

Politics

Coronavirus: Gabriel Attal hopes for "a relatively calm winter"

Health

Coronavirus: Why is the government relying on the anti-Covid 19 pill molnupiravir?

  • Health pass

  • Jean Castex

  • Emmanuel Macron

  • epidemic

  • Covid 19

  • Coronavirus

  • Government