Coronavirus: France to extend period between first and second dose of mRNA vaccine

France will extend the period between the first and second installments mRNA vaccines against Covid-19 in six to four weeks, starting on April 14 to speed up the vaccination campaign, Health Minister Olivier Veran said in an interview with JDD.

“This will allow us to vaccinate faster without reducing protection,” Veran told the newspaper.

Two mRNA vaccines, one from Pfizer / BioNTech and the other from Moderna, have been approved for use in France.

The French minister also said that from Monday the AstraZeneca vaccine will be available to all people over the age of 55 and not only to people with serious pre-existing diseases.

After a slow start, the supply of vaccines in France is catching up, but the daily number of Covid-19 infections is still averaging around 40,000 and the country is almost certain to exceed the 100,000 deaths mark next week.

Veran stressed that there are indications that the third nationwide lockdown imposed last weekend has begun to slow the rate of infections.

“This remains very high,” the health minister told JDD. “We can expect a fall after the stabilization period. But for that, we must continue. “

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