French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, said that the government would push to transform the health pass into a vaccine pass.
"Only vaccination will be taken into account with the vaccine pass," he explained, following a meeting of France's Covid Defence Council.
This proposition will have to be approved by the French parliament. It will be debated by MPs in January.
It would mean that proof of recent recovery from Covid and negative Covid test results would no longer be accepted as a means to access certain public venues like bars, restaurants, cinemas and gyms.
Castex said this was a necessary measure to expand vaccine coverage and take pressure off French health services.
Notre meilleure arme, notre seule arme, en réalité, c’est la vaccination, et la vaccination avec 3 doses désormais.
— Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) December 17, 2021
La campagne va s'accélérer et s'amplifier dans les prochaines semaines.
→ https://t.co/sGpUtk5csy pic.twitter.com/Te74hBCrhD
"Our intensive care services in our hospitals are mostly filled with non vaccinated people," he said, adding that there would be greater sanctions for those using "fake passes"
"It is unacceptable that the refusal of a few million French people to get vaccinated put the life of an entire country at risk," he said.
"Our best weapon, our only weapon in reality, is vaccination."
Close to six million people in France are still unvaccinated.
Booster dose eligibility to begin earlier
The Prime Minister also announced that the window in which people become eligible for a third (booster) dose of anti-Covid vaccine would be reduced from five months to four months, for people who have received two injections already. This change does not need parliamentary approval and will come into force on January 3rd.
He said that the army would be mobilised to help meet a surge of demand for booster doses.
The government is currently set to require all over 18s to have a booster dose in order to continue using the health pass in its current form. From January 15th, the clock will start ticking for over 18s to get their booster dose, before their passes are deactivated.
Christmas gatherings
Castex recommended that families avoid large meetings over Christmas and encouraged testing before festive gatherings.
J'invite chacune et chacun, quel que soit son statut vaccinal, à se tester dans les heures précédents ces moments de fête et de regroupement familial.
— Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) December 17, 2021
Il peut s’agir d’un test PCR, d’un test antigénique mais aussi tout simplement d’un autotest.
"The less of us there are, the less we are taking risks," he said.
"I invite everyone, whatever their vaccination status, to get tested in the hours before a party of family gathering. It could be a PCR test, an antigen test or simply a self-test."
The Prime Minister called on city authorities to ban "wild gatherings", fireworks and concerts on New Year's Eve. He said that prefectures around the country would prohibit alcohol consumption in public spaces.
A Christmas present for hospital workers
The Prime Minister also announced that overtime pay in hospitals would be doubled from Monday.
"We owe them a lot. We owe them our recognition for their commitment during the holidays," he said.
Castex said that France is approaching the peak of the fifth wave, but must be ready for a "lightning fast" spread of the Omicron variant seen in other European countries. France has already detected hundreds of Omicron cases and the Prime Minister said this strain could become dominant in early 2022.
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