French kids line up to get vaccine shots as omicron spreads

By ANGELA CHARLTON and BARBARA SURK
Associated Press

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — France’s health minister says omicron infections are rapidly spreading and the variant will become the dominant infection in the last days of 2021. Olivier Veran ruled out additional restrictions on public life and said the government’s main effort to stop the spread of the virus is a robust vaccination campaign, including shots for children aged 5-11 that started on Wednesday. The French government is trying to push through a law requiring vaccination to enter any restaurant and many other public places. At a “vaccinodrome” in a Paris suburb, children lined up for first-day jabs Wednesday wearing masks adorned with puppies, flowers or Marvel superheros. One 7-year-old was looking forward to ice cream after getting his shot.