A sign in France says "all vaccinated against COVID-19" on February 8, 2021 THOMAS SAMSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images France is embarking on an effort to persuade its people to accept the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Regulators say the vaccine is safe and effective, but its performance data has prompted some doubts. France's president, Emmanuel Macron, was among those to disparage the vaccine in the past. Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories. France is working to fix the disastrous image of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the country, after many in the country proved reluctant to take it.On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the French health ministry said at a press conference that "we need to get into a rehabilitation dynamic for this vaccine," making explicit a problem that had existed for weeks.The country is relying on the AstraZeneca shot to accelerate its sluggish vaccination campaign.