This Friday, the High Authority for Health recommended no longer using the Moderna vaccine as a precautionary booster dose, due to a potentially significant risk of myocarditis and pericarditis. An estimate which comes on the day of the end of the reimbursement of so-called “comfort” tests for those who are not vaccinated and who do not have a medical prescription.
- The management of these tests cost around 2.6 billion euros to Medicare in 2020.
- It will cost at least 44 euros for a PCR test and 22 euros for an antigen.
- About 7 million adults remain partially or unvaccinated.
No Moderna in third dose. The High Authority for Health (HAS) published an opinion this Friday in which she recommends not using this vaccine because of a potentially greater risk of myocarditis and pericarditis than the Pfizer, especially in the youngest. Several Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden, Norway and Finland, have decided to advise against or even suspend this vaccine in adolescents or even young adults. The HAS prefers to act “as a precautionary principle”, in particular because caregivers or people with comorbidities who are eligible for booster doses are sometimes young and therefore potentially the most at risk of such inflammation in the heart.
End of tests refunded unconditionally
At the same time, for screening tests, it is the end of total reimbursement. Since March 2020, around 150 million Covid-19 screening tests have been carried out in France, according to estimates by the Ministry of Health. Until now unconditionally free, their reimbursement by Health Insurance is, from this Friday, October 15, now subject to the need to present a complete vaccination schedule, a medical prescription, the presence of symptoms or a notification from Health Insurance telling you that you are in contact.
Encourage to get vaccinated
The government’s objective is to put an end to so-called “comfort” tests. “It is no longer legitimate to pay excessively for comfort tests at the expense of taxpayers”, confided Jean Castex to the echoes September 26th. The management of these tests cost around 2.6 billion euros to Medicare in 2020, according to the Social Security financing bill for 2022. “The logic is to reimburse tests linked to truly medical reasons, and to continue to encourage people to be vaccinated.”, added the Prime Minister.
For those who want to be tested but who do not meet the conditions for reimbursement, it will be necessary to pay at least 44 euros for a PCR test and 22 euros for an antigen. In pharmacies, you will have to pay 25 euros or even 30 euros on weekends. Self-tests at 5.20 euros will become chargeable when they are carried out under the supervision of the pharmacist.
7 million partially or unvaccinated adults
Another change that takes effect from this Friday: self-tests are no longer recognized for the health pass, even if they are carried out under the supervision of a health professional. RT-PCR tests and antigen tests will still make it possible to generate a health pass, within the current limit of a validity period of seventy-two hours, as well as a complete vaccination schedule or a recovery certificate.
In total, more than three out of four French people (75.7%) have received at least one dose of vaccine when 73.7% have had both injections, or around 45 million people. There are still about 7 million adults who are partially or unvaccinated.
.
