Paris | France will begin its COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Sunday, Health Minister Olivier Véran announced on Monday, while the European Medicines Agency authorized the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine in the EU.
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“Sunday, we will start vaccinating in France. The most vulnerable among us first of all, after medical examination, information and consent. A smooth start, concerned with everyone’s safety and respectful of our ethical commitments, ”Mr. Véran tweeted.
“It will be a very gradual start,” he had previously specified on radio Europe 1. “We are not rushing (…) it is a vaccination which takes the time to ensure that the conditions are met for may there be confidence, ”he insisted.
“We will be able to launch the vaccination campaign in France with European coordination at the end of this week,” said government spokesman Gabriel Attal shortly after leaving the Council of Ministers.
“This will start in particular with retirement homes,” for staff and residents, he explained. France’s vaccination strategy provides for one million vaccinations in January in nursing homes for dependent elderly people, then will concern people at risk (depending on age and pathological factors).
Non-priority populations will not be vaccinated until late spring.
The Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency said Monday “in favor of conditional marketing authorization in the EU for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech”, said the CEO of the EMA , Emer Cooke.
This opinion paves the way for the first marketing authorization in the EU and should cover all 27 Member States of the European Union.
Spain has already announced that it will start its vaccination campaign on December 27.