Empty halls, canceled shots: the deployment of the COVID vaccine in France fails

RIBECOURT-LA-TOUR, France (Reuters) – Renaud Georges was days away from receiving his first coronavirus vaccine, an injection which he hoped would allow him to kiss his grandchildren for the first time since months. He then received a text message informing him that the appointment had been canceled.

“It’s a huge disappointment,” he said. “For us, the vaccine is the only way out of this miserable crisis.”

The retired teacher said that due to a shortage of vaccine doses the next available slot is March 10. His wife Annie, who is two months into her 75th birthday and in good health is not considered a priority, does not know when she will. to get vaccinated.

“We regret not being able to kiss our children, to hold them in our arms. That’s it for us, ”said Georges.

Europe faces a vaccine shortfall as Pfizer and Moderna temporarily slowed supplies, while AstraZeneca said it will cut volumes allocated to the European Union in the first quarter due to production issues.

The shortages have led the northern region of Hauts-de-France where the Georges live, the Parisian agglomeration and at least one other region, which together represent a third of the French population, to postpone the distribution of the first doses.

General practitioner Anthony Haro said he was forced to temporarily close the vaccination center in nearby Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, which had been operating for nine days after the local hospital providing the vaccine said its stocks were exhausted.

“We had made promises to our patients, and those promises brought comfort,” he said. “We currently have very fragile patients, such as those on chemotherapy, whom we cannot vaccinate because the doses are reserved for the second round inoculations.”

“NO REGRETS”

France has no regrets about the European vaccine procurement process, said European Affairs Minister Clément Beaune.

“The idea that France or Germany could receive the vaccine but not its neighbor makes no sense,” the minister said.

Local officials blame the government for a chaotic vaccine rollout. They say it panicked after the campaign took off slowly and made the vaccine available to too many people too quickly.

Health Minister Olivier Veran said there had been no cancellations, simply postponed appointments and blamed less than expected supplies from pharmaceutical companies. He also said the increased number of vaccination centers had resulted in more appointments than doses in some places.

In mid-January, the mayor of the 17th arrondissement of Paris, Geoffroy Boulard, rushed to find doctors, nurses and administrative staff to manage a third vaccination center in his neighborhood which could deliver at least 1,200 COVID vaccines. per day.

Three days before the center opened, city authorities informed Boulard that there were not enough doses of Pfizer vaccine. “We feel like we’re taken for idiots,” he says.

The purchases of vaccines were too opaque and the consequences are felt everywhere in France. The government of President Emmanuel Macron has ignored lessons from the past, he said.

“Foresight is not a French quality. We have seen him with masks, test kits and we see him again with doses of vaccine, ”he complained. “What was plan B?”