You can now book Moderna jab appointment at French pharmacies and GPs

You can now book an appointment for the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a pharmacy or your GP in France.

Appointments to receive the vaccine can now be booked from May 28 as the government looks to maintain vaccination take-up, and avoid a plateau at around 60% of the population, as has been witnessed in other nations with successful vaccination programmes.

At current rates, the country should hit 60% coverage in late June, as the people in France put their vaccine scepticism to one side.

The Moderna vaccine, which is more easily stored than the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, will from now be exclusively distributed by chemists and GPs to anyone who has yet to receive a first dose.

Some 18,500 pharmacies across France are administering Covid-19 vaccines. Until now, they have used AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson products.

Workplace jabs

Covid vaccination rules in France state that - for logistical reasons - first and second doses must be given at the same location, so second doses of the Moderna vaccine will still be injected at vaccination centres for those who have already had their first dose.

Appointments may only be moved from one venue to another in exceptional circumstances.

The Health Ministry has also started a trial in which it offers the Moderna vaccine in workplaces. Some 20 firms are taking part in the trial, using 30,000 doses of the US vaccine, to increase take-up among workers. If successful, it may be rolled out nationwide.

The government also hopes the pass sanitaire, which will make cross-border travel easier and will be required to attend large-scale events in France, will be an incentive to those who have not yet booked an appointment for a vaccination.

Holiday vaccines

So far, more than 33 million people in France have received at least one vaccine dose, including nearly 10 million who have had two doses - but there is concern that the take-up of vaccinations will drop off during the summer holiday period.

Read more: Explained: Covid-19 rules for travel to and from France

To combat this, Industry Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher recently indicated that there would be a "reinforcement of vaccination sites at holiday destinations".

The aim is to increase the number of doses allocated to centres in these areas that are popular with tourists. Work is underway to identify the areas concerned and make preparations accordingly.

But, the Ministry of Health is insistent that first and second doses must be injected at the same venue. "It is necessary to adapt oneself, to adapt one's holiday schedule", in order to return for the second dose, the ministry said.

Travellers will therefore have to "adapt to [their] vaccination schedule for these holidays".

The government is also preparing "vaccination centre continuity plans" to ensure that it has staff in place to administer doses throughout the summer.

Low AstraZeneca take-up

The government is also working to improve take-up of the AstraZeneca vaccine among over-55s. Compared to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which see 90% of doses taken up readily, the AstraZeneca vaccine peaked at 56%, while Johnson & Johnson is down at 31%.

Both underused vaccines are important to France's efforts to cap Covid-19, so health professionals are working to highlight the health benefits of vaccination compared to the tiny risk of adverse effects.

Read more: French medics reject claim that vaccination increases Covid risk

"Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca must absolutely be used," the Health Ministry said, adding that there is "no reason" why the Johnson&Johnson vaccine should not be used more in the field.

Awareness campaign ramping up

Health officials are contacting those people who have been eligible for the vaccine for some time but who have not yet made an appointment to urge them to do so.

As of May 11, some 1.1 million over-75s had been telephoned, while 2 million letters and text messages had been sent out. It resulted in 110,000 new appointments being made. The reminder operation will be extended to other eligible age groups in the days and weeks ahead.