France has decided to widen its COVID-19 vaccine rollout to people aged 16-17 who could face a high risk of a major illness from the virus, said the country"s health ministry on Thursday, as the country gradually accelerates its vaccine programme. The health ministry said this category of 16-17 year olds would be allowed to get the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine from Thursday onwards. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.