This evening at 8 p.m., Emmanuel Macron will address the French for the 9th time since the start of the Covid-19 crisis. Main purpose of this speech: the promotion of the vaccine booster in the face of the epidemic rebound. On this subject, the Health Defense Council is meeting this Tuesday morning in order to think about the best way to push the French currently eligible for a third dose – over 65 years old, caregivers, obese, victims of co-morbidities – to take the plunge.
As the number of daily cases rises, the executive hopes, via the vaccine booster, to avoid a new wave, all the more feared that a more contagious variant is spreading in the United Kingdom. And only 3.4 million of the 7.7 million eligible people were revaccinated.
Is the validity of the health pass conditional on the vaccination booster?
The most evoked track, that of conditioning the booster dose to the maintenance of the sanitary pass, “is on the table”, indicated Friday the spokesman of the government Gabriel Attal. Several scenarios are envisaged: among these, the executive could announce this conditionality for people at risk and await the opinion of the High Authority for Health and the Scientific Council to possibly extend it to other populations.
But linking the health pass to the third dose is far from unanimous: the Academy of Medicine has spoken against, citing a possible problem of acceptability in the face of a controversial health pass. One option could be to give a one-month deadline to have a reminder before the pass is deactivated, according to a government source. A large majority of elderly people already vaccinated are rather anxious to make the booster, estimates the same source. Another obstacle, linking a 3rd dose to maintaining the health pass would raise a technical and ethical problem, because the health pass “recognizes your age, but not your diabetes”, notes the same source.
Towards a vaccination booster for all?
The head of state could also choose to recommend the recall for all, as Italy has just announced. The majority, however, seeks not to rekindle polemics on this sensitive subject, a week after the heated debate in Parliament on the possible extension of the health pass until July 31, 2022.
Emmanuel Macron should also insist on the flu vaccination campaign and the prevention of bronchiolitis in order to avoid congestion in hospitals, according to a government source.
Macron will take the opportunity to talk about his reforms
Politically, this solemn address, without questions, should allow the Head of State to resume the initiative five months before the first round of the presidential election. It comes on the day when its potential rivals follow one another in Colombey-les-deux-Eglises for a tribute to Charles de Gaulle.
Emmanuel Macron also hears about his projects, as in his television address of July 12, which was devoted equally to the health crisis and major post-Covid projects. He should talk about reforms, such as unemployment insurance, or pensions which remains unresolved. On July 12, Emmanuel Macron linked this reform to an exit from the health crisis, which the epidemic rebound keeps away. “All this is organized for the post-election,” said Arnaud Montebourg, presidential candidate on Sunday, predicting that Emmanuel Macron would “hide” this “impossible reform”, which he will do “without telling you” s ‘he is re-elected.
Boasting his record, Emmanuel Macron could finally discuss his international initiatives, such as this “Paris Peace Forum” that he brings together at the end of the week in the presence of Secretary of State Kamala Harris, as well as his projects for the French Presidency of the European Union, without forgetting the environment, in the midst of COP26.