France Changes Tack, Allows Astra Vaccine For Under-75s

Initially Limited To Under-65s, Move Comes After Positive UK Covid Data

Paris: France will allow people under 75 with existing health problems to get the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the health minister said, departing from an earlier stance that the vaccine should be for the under-65s only. The reassessment is likely to help speed up France’s vaccination campaign which many have criticised as too slow.

As of Saturday, 4.6 million people had received at least one shot of an AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. That compares to 6.2 million in Germany and up to 20.9 million in the UK. An official indicated that France has used only a quarter of its AstraZeneca doses. The official said the vaccine’s utilisation rate stood at 24% as of February 28, well below a target set at 80-85%. This compares with 82% for Pfizer shot and 37% for those made by Moderna.

Health minister Olivier Veran told France 2 TV that raising the age limit would enable 2.5 million more people to get vaccinated in coming weeks. People aged 75 and over would continue to get Pfizer and Moderna vaccines only, he said.