5 million eligible for Covid booster in France - how do they get it?

The Health Ministry yesterday (August 17) gave details of how five million people in France will be able to access Covid-19 booster doses.

For most people, this means receiving a third dose of vaccination.

Doses will be available from September 15 for elderly care home residents, people living in long-term medical care facilities, people aged over 80 and people with immunodeficiencies that put them at particularly high risk of contracting serious forms of Covid-19.

The booster dose will be distributed directly to eligible people living in care homes and facilities, as part of their routine care.

Doses can be ordered by these facilities from their usual suppliers from Monday, August 23, “in preparation for injections to be given”, the health ministry said.

Others who are eligible because they are over 80 or are living with immunodeficiencies but not hospitalised, will be able to make appointments for booster doses from September 1.

Appointments will be available on online platforms such as Doctolib for booster doses in “vaccine centres or places that usually give injections such as pharmacies or nurses offices,” said the ministry.

It is possible that people may receive a different type of vaccine for their booster dose than they received for previous doses. For example, someone fully-vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine may receive a shot of Moderna as a booster dose.

The health ministry said that scientific data had shown that mixing vaccines is safe and provides a level of protection equivalent to using the same vaccine for all doses.

It added that the list of five million eligible people may also be expanded.

The government expects a ruling from the Haute Autorité de Santé in the coming days on whether booster doses should be given to the wider population in France.

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