10 million first-time vaccinated but hospital pressure remains high

THE ESSENTIALThe vaccination campaign against Covid-19 is accelerating in France: the milestone of ten million people who have received at least one dose was crossed Thursday, announced Prime Minister Jean Castex. While the European Medicines Agency said on Wednesday that a “very rare” side effect of thrombosis existed for AstraZeneca serum, Germany for its part announced that it was considering purchasing doses of the vaccine ruse. Sputnik V. In addition, the tension on the hospitals remains strong.

10 million French people have received at least one dose of vaccine

“The whole country has just passed the 10 million people who received a first vaccination, one week ahead of the target I had set,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday afternoon.

“It’s a very good performance, France vaccinates a lot,” said the head of government. “And this is due to (…) all those who are 7 days a week on the bridge in the service of this great national cause which is called vaccination and which will allow us to emerge from this crisis”, he declared. after his visit to a vaccination center in Nogent-sur-Marne, east of Paris. The government plans to vaccinate 20 million people in mid-May, then 30 million in mid-June.

More than 98,000 dead in France and around 5,700 patients in intensive care

The number of patients Covid-19 in intensive care fell slightly on Thursday, but remains very high, according to data from Public Health France. There were 5,705 people in critical care services (which combine resuscitation, intensive care and continuing surveillance), up from 5,729 on Wednesday.

The total number of people in hospital is also down slightly with 30,555 positive coronavirus patients currently hospitalized, against 30,904 the day before. A total of 2,156 people have been hospitalized in the past 24 hours. In 24 hours, 343 new deaths were recorded in hospitals. A total of 98,037 people have died from Covid-19 since the start of the epidemic in the country on Thursday.

Germany to discuss possible purchase of Sputnik V vaccine with Russia

The Minister

German Health Officer Jens Spahn announced Thursday that his country would initiate discussions with Russia for a possible purchase of Sputnik V, if the anti-Covid vaccine is approved by European authorities.

On Wednesday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recognized for the first time on Wednesday that the AstraZeneca vaccine could cause very rare blood problems in some people. This “possible link” justifies, according to her, that the risk is mentioned in the leaflet of the vaccine. She added, however, that this was a “very rare” side effect and that the risk / benefit balance remained “positive”.

Two clergymen in custody after a controversial mass

After

a mass during which the sanitary rules were not respected, Saturday in a church in the center of Paris, a priest and a clergyman were placed in police custody on Thursday, to be questioned, said the Paris prosecutor’s office, confirming a 20Minutes information. These two men are heard for “deliberately endangering the life of others”, “not wearing a mask” and “gathering more than six people without respect for barrier gestures”, according to this source.

The Roland-Garros tournament officially postponed for a week

The Roland-Garros tournament, which was to take place from May 23 to June 6,

has been postponed for a week, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) said in a statement on Thursday.

The main draw of the tournament will take place from May 30 to June 13 after the qualifiers played from May 24 to 28, which could allow the organizers to welcome a larger number of spectators if the health restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic are eased. . The 2020 edition of Roland-Garros had been postponed from May to September.

“No minister” at illegal dinners, according to Christophe Leroy

The cook Christophe Leroy,

suspected of having organized clandestine luxury meals in particular at the Palais Vivienne of Pierre-Jean Chalençon, in violation of health restrictions, said Thursday through the voice of his lawyer that no minister had participated.

During the search conducted Wednesday at his Parisian home, Christophe Leroy “was able to deliver a number of documents establishing that the services he performed were, as the law allows, in private homes and not in establishments open to the public (ERP) of the restaurant type, ”his advice also indicated.

More than 2.87 million deaths worldwide

The pandemic has killed more than 2.89 million people worldwide, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Thursday in the middle of the day. The United States is the country with the most deaths (559,117), ahead of Brazil (340,776) and Mexico (205,598), India (166,862) and the United Kingdom (126,927).

These figures are globally underestimated. They are based on daily reports from national health authorities, without including reassessments based on statistical bases.