Anticipating A Spike In COVID-19 And Avoiding Lockdowns, France Will Accelerate The Administration Of Booster Doses

JAKARTA - French authorities are expected to announce that COVID-19 booster injections will be available to all adults, as well as stricter rules on wearing face masks and stricter health checks to curb a new wave of infections, French media reported.

Citing Reuters November 25, Health Minister Olivier Veran will hold a press conference at noon this Thursday local time.

President Emmanuel Macron's government on Wednesday said it would focus on stricter social distancing rules, with a faster push program and wanted to avoid lockdowns being re-imposed by several other European countries.

BFM TV and the daily newspaper Le Figaro were among local media detailing the government's strategy to combat a new wave of fast-spreading infections.

The delay between full vaccination and booster injections will be reduced to five months from six months, with PCR tests for the unvaccinated only going to be valid for one day, said BFM and Le Figaro.

Booster vaccines will increasingly become a requirement for valid health permits, which are required in France to enter restaurants, cafes, cinemas, and museums among other public places.

Earlier, France was due to announce new COVID-19 infection prevention measures later today, as infection rates soared nationwide, but is not planning a new lockdown like some other EU countries.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday the government wanted to avoid major restrictions on public life, prefer tighter social distancing, speed up vaccination booster campaigns, and tighten rules on the use of health permits.

"We have to protect the French people by building on what we have, to save the year-end celebrations and make the best of the winter," Attal told a news conference.

France's health clearance, which allows entry into cafes, restaurants, museums, cinemas, and other public places for people who have been vaccinated or have had a recent negative COVID test, is the main reason why the infection rate in France is lower than in neighboring countries, said Attal.

Introduced this summer, the permits led to a surge in new vaccinations, allowing the government to increase their efficiency by increasing control over their use.

Attal declined to elaborate on what steps might be announced on Thursday, but the government is expected to follow health regulator HAS's advice to extend the third dose of the vaccine to all people over the age of 40.

So far the third injection is only available to people over 65 years of age and those who are susceptible, but from December 1 also to people over 50. The government can also increase homework.

Attal said, despite the new measures, the fifth wave of the epidemic is likely to worsen in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the government expects to see a significant increase in pressure on hospitals in the coming weeks, hoping not to be drowned out by an influx of patients as vaccination drastically reduces the risk of serious symptoms.

"We no longer see an association, as we saw during the first three waves, between the number of infections and the number of hospitalizations," he said.

To note, France reported 32.591 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, while the number of COVID patients in intensive care nears the 1.500 thresholds.