Emmanuel Macron in the courtyard of the Elysée. – Jacques Witt / SIPA
A new health defense council takes place this Wednesday at the Elysee. While the next stage of deconfinement arrives on June 9, it is on the vaccination plan that the main questions arise today. If not, this council will have to decide in any case move forward on these subjects. The first concerns the logistical organization of vaccination during the two summer months.
The Obs a reminder that a plan must soon be presented to better equip heavily tourist areas with doses. The goal is to prevent French men and women from delaying their first vaccine injection, for fear that the appointment for the second dose may be in the middle of their vacation. Thus, the second dose could be done at a vacation spot. Also, flexibility could be introduced as to the duration between the two injections.
One or two doses of vaccine?
The milestone of 30 million first doses injected should be reached on June 10. But barely a fifth of the population is fully vaccinated. It is increasingly clear that collective immunity, for which it is not clear what level of vaccination coverage it is, cannot be achieved without the vaccination of adolescents. The consumer version of Pfizer’s vaccine was recently approved by the European Medicines Agency. When to start this campaign? This is one of the choices that the executive will have to make during this health defense council.
In February, France was the first country to recommend only a single dose of vaccine for people who had already had Covid-19 between three and six months before their vaccination. But currently, it is sufficient to present a positive PCR test without really knowing if the level of antibodies in the blood is sufficient to justify a single dose. And those who have had an asymptomatic form of the virus, without a test, cannot benefit from this “rapid route” of vaccination. Rapid serological tests could be offered in vaccination centers.
Finally, the last question on which the health defense council will have to address concerns the vaccination of the elderly. This population has long been a priority and is also far ahead of the others from the point of view of vaccination. But paradoxically there are still 29% of 75-79 year olds to be vaccinated and even more than a third of over 80%. Sacred holes in the racket. “The objective is to seek out all our fellow citizens who remain the most vulnerable,” Prime Minister Jean Castex recalled on Monday. It will be necessary to find means to go and vaccinate these populations who live in more rural areas but also less connected to the Internet.