A 78-year-old woman is the first person to receive a Covid-19 vaccine in France, according to a tweet from Aurélien Rousseau, director general of the Ile-de-France region’s health agency.
Rousseau posted a photo of the vaccination on Twitter on Sunday, describing it as “an intense moment … with so much hope”.
The first person to be vaccinated is a former housekeeper named Mauricette. She received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a public hospital in the Paris area Sunday morning.
“I am moved,” she said.
A 65-year-old cardiologist, Dr. Jean-Jacques Monsuez, was given the vaccine shortly afterwards.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that:
“After the green light from the health authorities, the vaccination campaign begins today, both in France and in Europe.”
He added that the vaccine would be completely free and voluntary.
A dozen elderly and carers will be vaccinated on Sunday at the symbolic launch of the French vaccination campaign, in the Paris region and in Dijon, north-east France.
The European Union launched the first phase of its mass vaccination program on Sunday. In addition to France, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain are among the Member States that started vaccinations this weekend.
The French government says it aims to vaccinate one million people by the end of February, focusing on the oldest, the most vulnerable and carers.