French Health Authority Suggests Prioritizing Elderly In COVID-19 Vaccination - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) France's National Authority for Health (HAS) on Monday suggested that the state vaccination strategy against COVID-19 disease should be implemented first on elderly people and those most vulnerable, media reported on Monday.

The government is due to unveil the details of the nationwide vaccination strategy this week. The campaign is due to be launched in late December or early January. According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the vaccination would not be mandatory.

According to the CNEWS media outlet, the institution said that French senior citizens residing and working in Ehpads � residential care establishments for the elderly � must be prioritized for vaccination "when the very first [vaccine] doses arrived ... given the limited number of doses that will be available at the start of the vaccination campaign."

It also said that the vaccination would be implemented in five steps, under a guideline of "protect as a priority the most vulnerable and those who care for them," HAS President Dominique Le Guludec said at a press briefing.

The second nationwide lockdown was introduced in the country on October 30 amid the second coronavirus outbreak, causing closures of public places, non-alimentary stores and businesses.

France began the first out of three stages of relaxing coronavirus restriction on Saturday, after the pandemic in the country was declared to have passed its peak. While some stores resume operations under strict health rules, and citizens are allowed to travel 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from home, lifting the second stage of lockdown is scheduled for December 15.

As of Monday, France has recorded 2,270,573 COVID-19 cases and 52,410 related fatalities.