The authorization of Moderna’s vaccine, the second after that of BioNTech / Pfizer, “opens the way for a first delivery of doses from today, Monday January 11, for a volume of 5,160 vials each containing 10 doses of vaccine, which is in addition to the weekly deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine, “the Ministry of Health said in a communicated.

These doses, underlined the Minister Olivier Véran on Europe 1, will be “dispatched” by January 13 in the regions where the virus circulates the most, that is to say the Grand Est, in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur. The cities concerned are Mulhouse, Colmar, Strasbourg, Reims, Nancy, Metz, Lons-le-Saunier, Besançon, Dijon, Moulins, Nice and Toulon.

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Eight million doses by the end of June

The health establishments of these towns will be “supplied within the week, and through them the vaccination centers” of the regions concerned.

By the end of June, “nearly 8 million doses” of the Moderna vaccine must be delivered to France, according to the ministry. The distribution circuit of this new vaccine “will be called in the coming weeks to switch to the dispensary circuit which links France in an extremely fine way”.

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Accelerating the number of Pfizer doses

The first laboratory to have received authorization in Europe and France, Pfizer, also specifies that its production capacities will gradually increase to reach 750,000 doses per week from March in France. According to these figures, France could therefore have at least 17.1 million Pfizer doses by the end of June, as our graph shows.

By adding the doses that Moderna must provide, France should have more than 25 million doses in total.

Two very similar vaccines

The Moderna vaccine received the green light from the High Authority for Health (HAS) on January 8, two days after receiving that from the European Union. It must be administered in two injections – like the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine -, spaced at least 28 days apart, but presents less logistical constraints, since it must be stored at -20 degrees, instead of -80.

Regarding the first wave of vaccination, with BioNTech / Pfizer doses, France should “exceed 100,000” vaccinated this weekend, said Mr. Véran on Europe 1. The minister said he was calm in the face of “false controversies” on a supposed slowness of the vaccination campaign.