The confinement of people not vaccinated against Covid-19, as applied in Austria, is “not necessary in France”, assures President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with La Voix du Nord posted online Thursday evening.
“The countries that confine the unvaccinated are those that have not implemented the pass. This measure is therefore not necessary in France ”, explains the Head of State.
“On the other hand, I think we should all be ambassadors for vaccination. I see it, public speaking has its limits. Help me to convince those who are reluctant, who have locked themselves in a lonely distrust, ”he adds.
Already new restrictions in some countries
Austria on Monday became the first EU country to confine people who have not been vaccinated or have not recently contracted Covid-19, to stem the record number of new cases.
Without going that far, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Thursday severe restrictions on unvaccinated people in Germany where the number of new infections jumped 65,371 in 24 hours, unheard of since the start of the pandemic.
France is also hit by a new wave of Covid but in smaller proportions with 20,366 positive cases recorded in 24 hours. The executive hopes to be able to contain it and get through the winter without additional measures thanks to the tools in place, foremost among which is vaccination.
Asked about a possible generalization of the booster dose, Emmanuel Macron told La Voix du Nord to await “the opinion of the health authorities”.
“For the immunocompromised and the elderly, we know that the risk-benefit is positive. If it turns out that a third dose is effective and necessary for other audiences, obviously, we will integrate it into the logic of the health pass, ”he added.
The Head of State announced on November 9 that the maintenance of the health pass for those over 65 would be conditioned, from December 15, by the injection of a booster dose, which will benefit those over 50. years from the beginning of December.
This speech gave a new boost to the vaccination campaign and France has just exceeded the bar of five million injected booster doses.