The Minister of Health François Braun had launched, at the beginning of December, a “solemn appeal for vaccination”, while the recall campaign launched in the fall for the most fragile populations had been skating for long weeks. It seems that he was heard by the French. As the holiday season approaches, the number of daily injections for a second booster (i.e. a 4th dose of vaccine) has increased significantly over the past two weeks.
More than 38.5% of people over 60 received a 4th dose of vaccine, mostly a “bivalent” vaccine, these messenger RNA vaccines adapted to new variants of SARS-CoV-2, deployed in France in the month of September. But the road is still long: around 8 million French people received their second vaccine booster, while nearly 40 million took the first booster.
During the last 7 days, the number of vaccinations for a 4th dose has fluctuated between 40,000 and 92,000 daily injections, or at least double the previous week. “It is skyrocketing,” welcomed Olivier Véran, the government spokesperson, on LCI on Sunday December 11. Until now, the injection of the 2nd and 3rd booster doses was reserved for the most vulnerable population, that is to say the over 60s, immunocompromised people or people with identified comorbidities as well as their entourage. Doctors and pharmacists are now called upon to no longer refuse volunteers if slots are available, while prioritizing the most vulnerable.