France, Dec. 5 -- In a research paper published on Thursday in Jama Network Open, the French epidemiological group Epi-Phare - which brings together the national medicines agency ANSM and the health insurance system - summed up its findings as follows: "Messenger RNA [mRNA] vaccines against Covid-19 do not increase the long-term risk of death from any cause."

The team assessed data from nearly 30 million adults aged 18 to 59 between 2021 and 2025.

Most - around 23 million - received at least one vaccine dose from mid-2021 onwards, when France launched its mass vaccination campaign against the virus that fuelled a global pandemic. The remaining 6 million remain unvaccinated.

The vast majority of doses administered were mRNA vaccines, ma...