French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that elderly and susceptible people will likely need a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. He announced that France plans to introduce it from September.
“A third dose will probably be necessary, not for everyone at once, but at least for the most vulnerable and the elderly,” Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media.
The French government is trying to step up its COVID-19 vaccination program again as the country faces the fourth wave of coronavirus and street demonstrations targeting the government’s policies to deal with the epidemic crisis.
Protests in France against sanitary passesReuters
WHO calls for vaccination to be suspended with a booster dose
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for withholding vaccinations with a booster dose against COVID-19, at least until the end of September. He called for a moratorium on booster doses.
The WHO justified its call with the widening gap between rich countries with wide access to vaccines and poorer ones where vaccines are not so common. Out of 4 billion doses applied so far in the world, 80 percent. of these are reported precisely in high-income or upper-middle countries, which is only half of the world’s population.
France vaccinations PAP / EPA
The United States rejected a call for a moratorium. According to US authorities, there is “no need” to choose between giving a third dose of the vaccine to its citizens or donating to poorer countries. The US has yet to make an administrative decision on the application of the third dose.
The WHO reaction was triggered by reports from Germany and Israel, where vaccination campaigns with the third dose of COVID-19 preparations have already started. Booster doses are mainly intended for the elderly whose immune system is not producing enough antibodies despite receiving two vaccines.
Coronavirus in France
France is currently facing another outbreak, especially in tourist regions. Last day, there were over 28.7 thousand. new infections. 85% of those unvaccinated against COVID-19 are recruited from among those unvaccinated against COVID-19, according to a study published on Friday. patients hospitalized in France, including intensive care units and 78%. deaths due to the virus. The coronavirus has killed a total of 112,046 people in France since the start of the pandemic.
Main photo source: PAP / EPA