News Digest: Delta Variant Threatens France’s Summer Fun

When comparing France’s vaccine strategy (which received widespread criticism for its slow start at the beginning of the year) to the UK’s, the health minister was also keen to point out that prioritising the most vulnerable citizens had been an important strategic move. Over 70s now have the highest percentage of fully vaccinated people (around 80%) in France and even though the overall numbers are still lagging behind that of the UK and other countries, there is hope that this will help protect against the worst of the fourth wave. As of June 30^th, 33,961,307 have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in France, while 22,813,043 are fully vaccinated.

Vaccines are now open to all people in France over the age of 12 and continuing vaccinations throughout summer will be key to protecting against this fourth wave. While some vaccine centres in Paris have announced they will close over July and August, there are now walk-in vaccine centres springing up around the country, with no appointment necessary (sans rendez-vous). These include mobile vaccine trucks for Tour de France supporters, walk-in booths set up in supermarkets or village markets, and some vaccine centres also offering set days or times for ‘walk-ins’. Look out for these stands at major events or sign up to your local town’s Facebook group or Twitter for the latest alerts.

Booking websites such as Doctolib will now also allow you to book your second vaccine at a different vaccine centre, for example, at your holiday destination.

Vaccinated travellers from green countries (such as the US and Canada) and orange countries (such as the UK) can now enter France without the need for an essential reason or quarantine under France’s traffic-light travel system, and we reported last week about the introduction of EU Health Passports for travellers within the EU. However, one important detail has just been confirmed regarding the rules of vaccinated travellers.

France has confirmed that, currently, individuals vaccinated using some AstraZeneca vaccines will not be counted as vaccinated. This only applies to those who received a vaccination using the Indian-manufactured ‘Covishield’ version of the vaccine, not the Europe-produced ‘Vaxzevria’ version. The reason for this is that the former version does not have a European sales licence and despite using the exact same ingredients, it is not on the EU’s list of approved vaccines.

This means many vaccinated travellers from India, Africa, and the UK (which has also used large numbers of the Indian-produced products) may find their vaccination status is not valid for entry to France.

If you’ve already received your AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK, you should check the batch number (which will be on your vaccination card or available on the NHS app) to see which product was used for your vaccine. The batch numbers that are currently not approved by the European Union are 4120Z001, 4120Z002 and 4120Z003.

Don’t panic about cancelling that summer trip to France just yet, though. Some European countries have already agreed to allow Covishield vaccines and an application for a European sales licence has been filed – if this is issued (and there is no reason that it shouldn’t be), these restrictions will soon be lifted, so sit tight! We’ll update you on the latest once we know more.