Moderna vaccine doses arrive in France
More than 50,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna are expected to arrive in France on Monday, according to a statement from the country's health ministry.
France should have nearly 8 million doses of the Moderna vaccine by the end of June, the health ministry said.
Last week, the European Medicines Agency authorized the Moderna vaccine for use across the European Union. Another COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech was approved two weeks earlier. Both vaccines are administered in two doses.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/covid-vaccination-center-sarcelles-france-getty-21_hpEmbed_20210111-090923_22x15_992.jpg)
French Health Minister Olivier Veran told Europe 1 radio that the Moderna doses will then be sent to towns and cities with the highest virus circulation. The doses should reach vaccination centers by Wednesday, he said.
By the end of the weekend, Veran said, more than 100,000 people should have received a first dose of the vaccine.
France has faced criticism for a slow vaccine rollout compared to its EU neighbours.
ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfoud contributed to this report.