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The French government partially reversed its decision on Monday not to use the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for the elderly.
The government also endorsed a recommendation from the country’s High Health Authority (HAS) to administer a single dose of the vaccine to people who have previously contracted the deadly virus, becoming the first country to do so.
Health Minister Olivier Véran told France 2 on Monday night that the AstraZeneca jab has already been approved for people aged 65 to 74 with “comorbidities.”
However, people over the age of 75 will continue to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.
In early February, Paris had ruled out the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in people over 65, citing insufficient clinical trials for older people. Instead, it was prioritized for healthcare workers and people between the ages of 50 and 64 with comorbidities, meaning they have another condition that makes the virus more deadly.
But many caregivers have been reluctant to give the vaccine because of more pronounced side effects, most often severe flu-like symptoms, in younger people. Questions have also been raised about the efficacy of the serum in counteracting the South African variant.
Véran said that the HAS “now considers, as of today, that all the vaccines that we have in France, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna, are remarkably effective.” He added that expanding the use of the two-dose AstraZeneca vaccine will reach “2.5 million French people.”
He also announced that the government has endorsed a HAS recommendation issued last month for people who have previously contracted COVID-19 to receive a single dose of the vaccine.
The HAS then said that people who have recovered from the disease “retain an immune memory” and that a “single dose of the vaccine will act as a booster.”
He recommended that the single dose be given at least three months after contracting the virus and for up to six months afterward.
France is the seventh most affected country in the world with a COVID-19 death toll of more than 86,800. More than 3.7 million cases have also been confirmed since the start of the pandemic.
Véran described the decision as “good news”, especially for the French “who will now be able to receive” their second dose.
“For the month of March alone, we hope to offer a first vaccination to 6 million French people,” he said, which “will make a total of 9 million since the beginning of the campaign.
The French government was harshly criticized in January for the slow rollout of the vaccine and has since announced plans for the vaccination campaign to be completed by late summer.
By February 28, just under 3 million French people had received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to COVID Tracker.
This results in more than 6.7 doses per 100 people, below the rates seen in other member states, including Denmark, Poland, Romania, Spain, Germany and Italy, according to Our World in Data.
