COVID-19: France recommends booster dose for people aged over 65 as Delta variant spreads

Amidst growing concern over the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, France's Haute Autorite de Sante (HAS) health watchdog on Tuesday recommended a third dose/booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 65 and above. They also said that the lives of people with comorbidities could be at risk if infected with Covid-19.

The third dose of the vaccine was recommended only for those who had already received two doses of the vaccine. The third dose will offer an mRNA vaccine such as the ones produced by Pfizer or Moderna. Releasing a statement, the HAS watchdog emphasised the increase in vaccination coverage, especially for people aged 80 and above. It further stated that criteria for the third dose will be widened in the news few weeks.

Booster dose announced for over 5 million people

It should be mentioned here that the French health minister, in July, had also announced a booster dose for at least 5 million people who were found to be the most vulnerable. The country is logging around 20,000 new COVID-19 cases in a day, which has raised concerns as schools are set to open by next week.

However, in order to sort out inequalities in the global distribution of doses, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for a temporary prohibition on booster shots at least until the end of September. Amidst a surge in new COVID-19 cases, Israel was one of the first countries to administer booster shots at the end of July.

France witnessing protests against COVID-19 "health pass" 

Meanwhile, France is also witnessing widespread demonstrations against COVID-19 "health pass," which was made mandatory in the country last month. Criticizing the measure, many protesters blamed the French government for making the vaccines obligatory.

The health pass has now been made mandatory to access restaurants and cafes, bars, shopping centres, cultural venues, sports arenas, and travel by trains and flights. Besides making the health pass mandatory, the authorising law also made vaccinations mandatory for French health workers, for which the deadline has been set for September 15. Currently, more than 40 million people (60% of the population) are fully inoculated in the country and over 47 million people have received their first jab, data by the health ministry stated. 

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