Covid: three quarters of French people have now received a dose of vaccine

Vaccination coverage is progressing more and more slowly, but continues to expand: it is more than 87% of the eligible population and nearly nine in ten adults. Vaccination coverage for people aged 80 and over is still lagging behind.

This is a new symbolic bar that has just been crossed, and which shows that vaccination coverage continues to increase, even if it is at a sharp decrease. According to the latest vaccination data, 75% of French people have received at least one dose of the vaccine. 

For the record, the threshold of the first quarter was crossed on May 4, four and a half months after the start of the vaccination campaign, and that of half, on June 25. And it took three more months to vaccinate the third quarter.

If we take into account only the eligible population (12 years and over), the vaccination rate reaches 87.2%. 89% of adults even received at least one dose. Vaccination coverage exceeds 85% in all age groups above 18 years, except among 30-39 years (80%). There is also a delay in vaccination in those over 80 (86%), while other age groups over 50 are over 90%.

It is among 12-17 year olds that vaccination coverage continues to grow the most : 65% of them are fully vaccinated and 8% have an ongoing vaccination schedule. While schools are required to offer their students a vaccination course, around two-thirds of middle and high schools have done so (6,758 out of 10,700). The entry into application of the health pass for these young people since September 30 could also motivate the last recalcitrant to be vaccinated.

The first injections in free fall

However, the increase in immunization coverage has slowed down considerably. The number of first-time injections has returned to a level seen since early January, with less than 40,000 daily injections on a weekly average. The average number of second doses decreases by the same amount.

Note, the number of third doses peaks around 40,000 daily injections. "Between three and four million French" received a booster dose, or "between 25 and 30%" of eligible people, said Olivier Véran on France Inter Wednesday. “It's not enough,” he regretted. A total of 18 million people are eligible for a booster dose, but not all of them can receive it now because they did not receive their second dose less than six months ago.

However, France's vaccination coverage places the country at the forefront of vaccination, at European and global levels. The country now occupies fourth place in the European Union, after a sluggish start to the campaign. It is also ahead of the United Kingdom (71.6% of vaccinated) and the United States (63.7%).