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France urges vaccine uptake, bans New Year’s concerts

PARIS — French authorities on Friday urged people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus ahead of the holiday festivities as infections surge and the government tries to avoid another lockdown.

“The fifth wave is here and it is here in full force,” Prime Minister Jean Castex told a news conference, adding that the fast-spreading omicron variant is expected to dominate infections in France at the start of January.

“The fewer you are, the lower the risk,” Castex said.

“While we gave a lot of time to those who have hesitated and had doubts, we will reinforce incentives for vaccination in January because it is not acceptable that the refusal of a few million people to get vaccinated puts an entire country at risk” Castex said.

France has sharply restricted travel to the country from outside the European Union, including from the U.K., because of the spread of the omicron variant. Authorities announced limits on reasons for traveling to France from Britain, a negative virus test less than 24 hours old and a mandatory 48-hour isolation upon arrival beginning Saturday.

The National Velodrome in Paris, the home of France’s track cycling team and now once again the country’s largest vaccination center, was buzzing with people getting jabs before heading home — or doing last minute shopping — for the holidays.

“It’s to be safe,” said Nilo Schwencke, a doctoral student.

Before coming on Friday to get a booster, Coralie Vieville said she has shared a file with 40 family members, expected to gather for Christmas, to determine who has already been vaccinated and who hasn’t.

“That’s how we are preparing,” Vieville said. Because it’s a large family, she said, “it’s quite important to do this and be sure there’s as little risk as possible.”

Over 48 million of France’s 67 million people are fully vaccinated and tens of thousands are signing up for first shots or boosters. It’s those third shots that health officials want to administer fast and in large numbers to curb the fast-spreading omicron variant.

“People often forget and say ’I’m vaccinated, I’ve caught COVID, the vaccination’s not working,” said Marc Morales, a doctor at the Velodrome, as recreational cyclists sped round the track. “That’s false. It protects against severe cases, it reduces transmission but in terms of transmission it’s not 100% efficient.”

The velodrome can accommodate on average three to five thousand vaccine shots in a six-hour day but if needed, can take even more, Morales said. Next week, the “vaccinodrome,” as it has become known, will start vaccinating children aged 5-11 after health authorities issue the final approval.

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