France plans 2nd COVID-19 booster dose for adults aged 18-59

Paris [France], July 21 (ANI/Xinhua): France will offer a second COVID-19 booster jab to at-risk adults aged from 18 to 59, as well as pregnant women and those who live with vulnerable or immunocompromised people, the French newspaper Le Parisien reported Wednesday.
This newly enlarged vaccination campaign will target around five million people, it said.
The second booster is administered with Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines at least three months after the first booster shot, or after six months for those aged over 80.
Last week, the French national health authority HAS recommended a second booster dose to adults under 60 who were "identified as being at risk of a severe form of COVID-19."
"You have to get vaccinated now, without waiting for new vaccines, to be protected from the risk of a severe form," the Ministry of Health told the public on Wednesday.
The HAS's recommendation was based on the spread of Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, as well as the weak progression of the first booster dose.
France started to offer a second booster dose to people aged over 80 on March 14 and to those over 60 on April 7.
According to the country's public health agency, 79 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated and 59.5 per cent have received a booster shot.
On Wednesday, France reported 89,982 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours. (ANI/Xinhua)