French lawmakers to vote on COVID vaccine pass amid death threats

The new law, which would do away with the option to show a negative test instead of having the jabs, has the backing of most parties and is almost certain to be passed by the lower house in a vote late on Monday or early on Tuesday.

Reuters

January 03, 2022 / 19:27 IST

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Dozens of French lawmakers have reported receiving death threats from suspected anti-vaccination protesters, as parliament starts to debate legislation that would require people to show proof of vaccination to go to a restaurant or cinema or take the train.

The new law, which would do away with the option to show a negative test instead of having the jabs, has the backing of most parties and is almost certain to be passed by the lower house in a vote late on Monday or early on Tuesday.

France has traditionally had more vaccine sceptics than many of its EU neighbours, but has one of the bloc's highest COVID-19 vaccination rates, with nearly 90% of those aged 12 and over now fully vaccinated.

The proposed tightening of the rules has nevertheless caused an upsurge of anger among anti-vaxxers, with some lawmakers saying they have been subject to aggression including vandalism of property and violent threats.

Last week, the garage of a ruling party lawmaker was set on fire with graffiti by suspected anti-vaccination protesters scrawled on an adjacent wall.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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