Jean Castex in Caen in a vaccination center, April 16, 2021. – Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP
Prime Minister Jean Castex on Saturday called on the 13 million French people over 55 who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 to do so “with all vaccines, in particular with AstraZeneca”.
The head of government explained that there were “still in France today two million doses of AstraZeneca which are not used”, and that “we will receive three million in the next four weeks”. According to him, “Germany has come back to us in terms of vaccination only because the use of AstraZeneca is better there”.
A delay in the government’s timetable?
“Above 55 years old, the authorities are all unanimous in France as elsewhere that there is no danger. I urge you to get vaccinated with all vaccines, in particular with AstraZeneca, ”he said after visiting a vaccinodrome in La Défense, near Paris.
Persistent mistrust of the AstraZeneca serum, which is struggling to flow at the desired pace, raises fears of delays in the government schedule. If Jean Castex reaffirmed on Saturday that the objective of having 20 million vaccinated in mid-May was “within our reach”, a government source estimated in recent days that “if we do not run out the doses of AstraZeneca, we will not ‘is not certain to reach 30 million on June 15 ”.
The side effects, however rare, of the vaccine of the Anglo-Swedish group led the health authorities, after a brief suspension, to limit its use to those over 55 years old. According to figures from the Ministry of Health arrested on Sunday, only 75% of AstraZeneca doses received were injected, against 90% for the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine.