France to announce Covid-19 booster shots for all adults today

France is expected to announce that COVID-19 booster shots will be made available to all adults as well as stricter rules on wearing face masks and more stringent health pass checks to curb a new wave of infections, French media reported.

Health Minister Olivier Veran is due to hold a press conference at midday on Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government on Wednesday said it would focus on tougher social distancing rules and a faster booster shot programme and that it wanted to avoid the lockdowns being imposed once more by some other European countries.

BFM TV and daily newspaper Le Figaro were amongst the local media which detailed the government’s strategy for combating the fast-spreading new wave of infections.

The delay between full vaccination and a booster shot would be reduced to five months from six months and PCR tests for the non-vaccinated will only be valid for one day, BFM and Le Figaro said.

Booster shots will progressively become a requirement for a valid health pass, required in France to enter restaurants, cafes, cinemas and museums among other public venues.

Health ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

France reported 32,591 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, while the number of COVID patients in intensive care approached the 1,500 threshold.