250,000 Covid jabs in France in one day as rollout steps up

Around 250,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses were administered in France yesterday (March 5), marking an acceleration in a campaign that has been criticised for being too slow.

Of the doses delivered yesterday, around 185,000 were first injections - two doses are necessary for the vaccine types authorised in France to be fully effective.

This is an increase compared to recent weeks, in which between 100,000 to 200,000 doses have been being delivered each day.

The graph below shows the daily progression of vaccine doses administered in France from January 1 to March 4. The light blue lines represent first doses and the dark blue lines represent second doses.

Health Minister Olivier Véran welcomed the news, posting on Twitter that the rollout would continue this weekend with hundreds of extra vaccination centres opening around the country.

Mr Véran and Prime Minister Jean Castex stated during a joint press conference on Thursday that France’s vaccination campaign would now speed up.

Mr Castex said that the government is aiming to give a first dose of a vaccination to over 30million people by the beginning of the summer.

He is aiming for 10million first vaccinations by mid-April and 20million by mid-May.

He announced a series of changes to the vaccination strategy, including allowing pharmacists to deliver jabs and opening up eligibility to new age groups.

You can read more about that here - How France plans to speed up Covid vaccination rollout

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