France gives ‘green light’ to Pfizer’s Covid-19 jab with vaccinations due to start on Sunday

The French medical regulator has given its approval for the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in France after the European Medicines Agency and the European Commission endorsed the jab earlier this week.

The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, which is stated to be 95 percent effective against the virus, was given the green light by France’s health regulator, Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS), on Thursday. 

The nationwide approval comes after the European Medicines Agency and the European Commission authorized the vaccine’s use across the EU on Monday. 

“The BNT162b2 (Pfizer) vaccine can be used in people 16 years of age and over and including older people because of its efficacy and its satisfactory tolerance profile,” the HAS wrote. 

The first doses of the vaccines are due to arrive in France on Saturday, according to Health Minister Olivier Veran, with the mass vaccination program kicking off on Sunday.  

“Larger” vaccine deliveries are then scheduled for “the end of December and early January.” 

France will be among the first countries in Europe to start their vaccination campaign against Covid-19.

December 27 had been announced as the start date for the EU vaccination effort some weeks ago.

By the time France begins its program on Sunday, the UK will have already been inoculating people against the virus for three weeks.

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