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		</div><p>France has begun administering Covid-19 vaccine booster shots to people aged over-65 and those with underlying health conditions, as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading in the country.</p>
<p>France is the first big EU country to introduce widespread booster shots, and several other European countries are expected to follow suit.</p>
<p>Many countries are still struggling to administer first doses of Covid-19 vaccines and the World Health Organisation (WHO) had called for a moratorium on boosters and also urged governments to donate vaccines to needy countries.</p>
<p>People in France qualify for the jab if a minimum six-month period has passed since they were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.</p>
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<p>Those who received the single-dose Johnson &; Johnson jab could get a booster shot of Pfizer or Moderna at least four weeks after they were first vaccinated.</p>
<p>A nationwide booster campaign is due to start in nursing homes on September 12.</p>
<p>About 18 million people are estimated to be eligible for the booster shot, the health ministry said.</p>
<p>The French government has followed the recommendations of the country’s health authority, the HAS, which said last month that “recent studies suggest a fall in the vaccine’s effectiveness, especially with the Delta variant”.</p>
<p>The elderly and people with underlying health conditions were the most affected by the drop over time, the authority said.</p>
<p>The booster shot was already available in France for some particularly vulnerable people, including transplant recipients and others with weakened immune systems.</p>
<p>The French government has so far made no decision regarding the potential extension of the campaign to the whole population.</p>
<p>France has been facing high numbers of confirmed infections since July, with a slight decrease in recent weeks, from more than 23,000 per day around mid-August to 17,000 now. But many fear a reverse of the trend as children go back to school after summer holidays on Thursday.</p>
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<p>French government spokesman Gabriel Attal warned that “almost half of ICU beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients, which is still substantial and preoccupying. So it is imperative that we maintain our efforts … the upcoming weeks are not without risks”.</p>
<p>Almost 44 million people, or 65.6% of the French population, are fully vaccinated.</p>
<p>France’s decision to launch its booster campaign comes as the European Medicines Agency said it was reviewing data to see if booster shots were needed.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the authorities in the German capital Berlin have started offering booster shots to elderly care home residents. Several other German states have already begun offering boosters to vulnerable people.</p>
<p>Israel has expanded its coronavirus booster shot programme to include anyone aged over 12 – the latest phase of a booster programme that began in July with Israelis aged over 60.</p>
<p>And US health officials recently announced plans to dispense booster shots to all Americans. The campaign is expected to have started by the end of September.</p>
<p>The head of the WHO’s European branch, Dr Hans Kluge, said this week that he agreed with the top US infectious diseases expert that a third dose of coronavirus vaccines could help protect the people most vulnerable, and it should not be seen as a “luxury booster”.</p>
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