France to launch COVID-19 vaccination program in “a matter of weeks”

Paris, Dec 4 : French Prime Minister Jean Castex said a three-phase COVID-19 vaccination program will be launched in “a matter of weeks” and people will have the jabs free of charge and voluntarily.
At a weekly briefing on the epidemic situation, Castex on Thursday said the vaccination campaign would be deployed gradually “according to a simple logic: priority is given to the most vulnerable people and those most likely to develop serious forms of the disease”, Xinhua news agency reported.
Involving one million people, the first stage in early January will target the elderly in nursing homes and their medical staff who are at risk.
In the second phase in February, the government expects to inoculate 14 million people with age-related health risks or chronic diseases. A broader vaccination aimed at the general public is planned for the spring.
“We will be ready for the first vaccinations as soon as the vaccines are available,” Castex told reporters.
France has ordered some 200 million doses from different pharmaceutical companies to inoculate 100 million people, more than France’s 67 million inhabitants as “a margin of safety,” he added.