After having received a marketing authorization in Europe on January 6 and having been approved by the High Authority of Health in France, the vaccine developed by the American company Moderna is about to be distributed on French territory. 50,000 doses are expected and can as of today be dispatched to the regions most affected by the epidemic.
50,000 vaccine doses expected in France
On January 6, the European Medicines Agency gave its authorization for the marketing of the Moderna vaccine. Two days later, the Moderna vaccine received the green light from the High Authority for Health (HAS). After the one developed by Pfizer / BioNTech, it is therefore the second vaccine available in France to fight against Covid-19.
In a press release published this Sunday, January 10, 2021, the Minister of Health specifies that this authorization ” paves the way for a first delivery of doses on Monday, for a volume of 5,160 vials each containing 10 doses of vaccine, in addition to the weekly deliveries of Pfizer vaccine “. By the end of June, nearly 8 million doses are expected for the Moderna vaccine.
As a reminder, the Moderna vaccine, like the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, uses so-called “messenger RNA” technology. It must be administered in two injections made 28 days apart and has the advantage of being able to be stored at -20 ° C against -80 ° C for the Pfizer vaccine.
Priority to the most affected regions
In the press release from the Ministry of Solidarity and Health, Olivier Véran explains: “ The authorization of the Moderna vaccine by the European Medicines Agency and the High Authority for Health, allows us to have more than 50,000 additional doses of vaccine this week. I wanted these doses to be allocated to the regions most affected by the pandemic. These doses can be administered as early as next week when they arrive at the vaccination site. “.
The Moderna vaccine doses will therefore go in priority to the regions in which the epidemic is the most active, namely the Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Health establishments and vaccination centers in the cities of Mulhouse, Colmar, Strasbourg, Reims, Nancy, Metz, Lons-le-Saunier, Besançon, Dijon, Moulins, Nice and Toulon will be supplied from this week.
