French PM plans to get AstraZeneca vaccination as an example

16 March 2021, 22:04

Virus Outbreak The Latest
Virus Outbreak The Latest. Picture: PA

France suspended AstraZeneca jabs on Monday while it waits for the European regulator to clear up any doubts about possible side effects.

France’s prime minister says he wants to boost confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine by getting an injection as soon as his government authorises its use again.

France suspended AstraZeneca jabs on Monday while it waits for the European regulator to clear up any doubts about possible side effects.

At age 55 and with no known underlying health problems, French Prime Minister Jean Castex is not, strictly speaking, among the groups yet eligible for vaccination in France, which has prioritised injections for the most vulnerable.

HEALTH Coronavirus
(PA Graphics)

But speaking to broadcaster BFM-TV, Mr Castex said that he wants to get an AstraZeneca injection to set an example.

“Given what is happening, what has just happened, with AstraZeneca, I told myself, in effect, that it would be wise that I get vaccinated very quickly, as soon as the suspension is, I hope, lifted,” he said.

Mr Castex added that he wants to demonstrate to his fellow citizens “that vaccination is the exit door from this crisis”.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

House Speaker Mike Johnson

House rejects temporary funding bill for US government

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, centre, oversees a launch

Kim Jong Un supervises missile tests, says North Korean state media

Election 2024 Trump

Iranian hackers tried to interest Biden campaign in stolen Trump info

Kamala Harris speaks and gestures with her hands

Harris hits out at Trump’s promise of mass deportations

Artist's impression of Sean Combs and his lawyer in court

Judge denies Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs bail ruling he could tamper with witnesses

Harvey Weinstein in court

Shamed movie producer Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex assault charge

Sean 'Diddy' Combs speaking on a TV show

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs asks to be allowed to stay at home while awaiting trial

The Dali cargo ship entangled with the fallen bridge

Ship that collided with bridge had known electrical problems, lawsuit says

The Federal Reserve building in Washington (J Scott Applewhite/AP)

US Federal Reserve cuts key interest rate by half-point

More communication devices have exploded in southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut.

Israel declares 'new phase' of war as second wave of booby-trap blasts hit Hezbollah

Hezbollah members' funeral

At least nine dead and 300 hurt in fresh wave of explosions across Lebanon

Clouds of smoke drift as fires rage on the hills around a town in northern Portugal

Firefighters stretched to the limit as wildfires rage out of control in Portugal

Flooded streets in Plav, in the Czech Republic

Rising rivers threaten southern Poland as flooding recedes elsewhere in Europe

Flooding in Dresden, Germany

EU warns flooding and wildfires show ‘climate breakdown fast becoming the norm’

Dali cargo ship wedged under the collapsed Baltimore bridge

US Justice Department sues ship owner over clear-up costs of collapsed bridge

Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono

British-educated entrepreneur denies making Hezbollah's explosive pagers that killed 12 and maimed thousands