Paris [France], November 17 (ANI/Xinhua): France will face the acceleration of the fifth wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the coming weeks, Jean-Francois Delfraissy, head of the scientific council that advises the government on COVID-19, warned on Wednesday.

Speaking on radio France Inter, Delfraissy said that the fifth wave has hit France since mid-October.

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"With the level of vaccination that we have, we are equipped with the capacity to face this fifth wave, under the condition of using all the tools in the toolbox," he said, referring to the vaccination of the non-vaccinated, the booster shot, the barrier gestures and the application of health pass.

The immunologist estimated that the fifth wave would be "difficult" for the French health system since "the hospitalizations will rise, up to ... 1,200 or even 1,400 new admissions per day, probably at the beginning of December."

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Delfraissy also defended the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccines. "It is extraordinary to have got them so fast. They protect in a very strong way against serious illness from the coronavirus."

France has approved the use of vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.

In September, the government announced that people who have received two doses of China's Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines are eligible to get their health pass after the administration of a complementary dose of a messenger (mRNA) vaccine.

French Public Health Agency reported on Tuesday 19,778 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a record high since August 25 when the country reported 23,706 new cases.

To date, France has recorded over 7.31 million COVID-19 infections since the outbreak of the pandemic. (ANI/Xinhua)

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