The High Authority for Health (HAS) approved the use of this vaccine on Friday. Like BioNTech-Pfizer’s, Moderna’s is based on the administration of two doses.
Le Monde avec AFP et Reuters
The first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from the American laboratory Moderna will arrive in France on Monday January 11, announced on Saturday January 9 the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, who inaugurated a vaccination center in the company of the Prime Minister, Jean Castex.
“We have not yet reached the cruising speed of vaccinations in our country, since we are going to vaccinate more French people every day”, said Olivier Véran. “Next week, the pace will increase further. We are already in the daily average for European countries. (…) We will have 50,000 first doses of the new Moderna vaccine from Monday in our country”, he added, affirming in passing that the milestone of 100,000 vaccinations will be crossed this Saturday or Sunday.
Approved Friday
The High Authority for Health (HAS) approved Friday the use of the vaccine against Moderna’s Covid-19. So far, only the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech had been approved in France on December 24. The clinical trial carried out by the American laboratory concluded with an effectiveness of 94% to prevent the symptomatic forms of the disease Covid-19, recalled the health authority.
Like the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, Moderna’s vaccine relies on two doses. For the latter, a “period of twenty-eight days between the two vaccine doses must be respected,” recalls the HAS, stressing that it is a “minimum threshold”.
The ” vaccine strategy “already announced (start with the populations most at risk of severe form and those most exposed to the risk of infection) remains valid for this vaccine, adds the opinion of the HAS.
The French Presidency also announced on Saturday that Emmanuel Macron had met with Chancellor Angela Merkel and with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, to discuss the evolution of European vaccination programs.