The Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the fall of 2023 will be anticipated. Initially it was scheduled to begin on October 17, but, “given the epidemiological circumstances”, the Ministry of Health decided to bring it forward to October 2.
Who will be able to get vaccinated? Health authorities have established a list of “goals”. These include people over 65 years of age, people with comorbidities, immunocompromised people and their environment, pregnant women and residents of nursing homes.
Anyone who wishes to benefit from a withdrawal will be able to do so.
For the general population, “the booster dose is no longer recommended,” underlines the Ministry of Health. “However, if a person is not within the target and wishes to receive a booster, they will be able to benefit from it for free.” Which therefore means that all people who wish to do so, and who have not received a booster or have not been infected within a period of six months, may apply for it.
In December 2022, during an earlier recall campaign, the government remained vague about who was and was not eligible for vaccination.
“Anyone who wishes can get vaccinated against flu and Covid,” said the then Minister of Health, François Braun, on December 9.
A statement that contradicted the instructions received and applied by the pharmacies, as BFMTV found after an investigation. Pharmacies continued to comply with the instructions of the General Directorate of Health, which reserved vaccination for “targets”.
What vaccines are administered?
The Ministry of Health detailed the vaccines that will be injected starting October 2 and orders began this Monday. The products will be adapted to the Omicron family subvariant “XBB.1.5”.
“For this booster dose, bivalent mRNA vaccines, adapted to Omicron, are recommended as the first line, regardless of the vaccine previously administered,” indicates the note from the Ministry of Health.
For people who do not want a bivalent mRNA vaccine and those who have contraindications, it will be possible to use the VidPrevtyn Beta (Sanofi) and Nuvaxovid (Novavax) vaccines as a booster.
Finally, for places dedicated to vaccination, the government specifies that pharmacists, doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists will be able to administer the injections.
Source: BFM TV
