people refuse to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca and doses remain in refrigerators

When French President Emmanuel Macron referred to May as a slow return to normal, the French listened with hope but skepticism. Everyone dreams of France eagerly reopen bars, restaurants, cinemas, museums, hug friends and family, find out if they can spend a vacation. But this reality depends on vaccines against coronavirus. French they refuse to be vaccinated today with AstraZeneca, the “cursed” vaccine for Europeans.

Harassed by the European Commission’s campaign against the British Swedish laboratory because of its contract, the threat to prevent the export of vaccines outside Europe, and rare cases of thrombosis detected, AstraZeneca was demonized by the authorities as a “dangerous” vaccine and today the French do not want to be vaccinated with it.

According to France Bleu, hundreds of quotes they were canceled in the vaccination centers of Calais, Gravelines and Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the north of France, Saturday and Sunday. They stayed like that almost 1200 doses AstraZeneca without finding a receiver. In detail, Saturday in Calais, of the 750 doses of the Anglo-Swedish vaccine that were to be administered to eligible patients, only 200 were inoculated. The rest went back to the refrigerators.

Same scenario in Gravelines, with nearly 800 doses planned, but where only 130 people finally showed up. It is more than 600 orphan doses patients. In Boulogne-sur-Mer this Sunday there were 160 doses which were not found interested, according to the newspaper Voix du Nord.

It is the north of France, where the zone is total red and where specialists plan at least in the country 700 deaths per day. Doctors fear the overflow of intensive care and demand from the president severe and total confinement, which he does not grant.

If the European Medicines Agency confirmed a “rare” risk of thrombosis a few days ago after the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the history of this serum, on which France has relied a large part of its vaccination campaign , seems more and more disconcerting.

“All vaccines are effective”

Visiting during the vaccination course of Marcq-en-Barœul (north) Sunday afternoon, to reassure the population, the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, once again urged the French to be vaccinated. “All vaccines are effective against the coronavirus,” he said.

The mayor (LR) of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, told AFP on Monday that she had “550 doses of AstraZeneca to place” and that she did not have around 70 dates. Teams for other vaccines are filling up easily.

“It’s been eight days since it started and on Friday (when the UK medicines regulator said it had identified 30 cases of blood clots in people who received this vaccine) it was Move of mercy”Summarized the mayor of Calais, who did not vaccinate the migrants, who live there in the open air.

“A national campaign is really necessary to explain that this vaccine does not have more negative consequences than Pfizer or Moderna”, insisted the person in charge of Calais, pointing “a communication very poor which has serious consequences. “

This appointment cancellation phenomenon is not observed when offering a vaccine other than AstraZeneca. The fears stem from recent statements about very limited cases of thrombosis around the world. But it scares people who need to be vaccinated.

As of Saturday morning, of the 18 million doses administered throughout the UK vaccination campaign, only seven fatal clots were reported. A total of 34 cases of thrombosis were identified.

Mayo

President Macron has spoken of getting a calendar for culture, sports, events, cafes, restaurants in mid-May and early summer. But without vaccinations it will be a miracle or simply an expression of good wishes.

The battle for vaccines disrupts relations between France and Great Britain. It is the post-Brexit legacy and affects ordinary citizens, who must face Covid and dose nationalism.

Today there is a political guerrilla which is embodied in Astrazeneca, the exclusivity contract it signed with the British government and the “goodwill” contract it established for the 27 EU countries with the European Commission, according to their production capacity. The vaccine has already glowed a link that was burning at the end of Brexit.

Today Britain has vaccinated more than 30 million people and that goes to an average of 700,000 people per day. 57 percent of adults vaccinated in the kingdom, mostly with AstraZeneca. In France, the army will open vaccination fields throughout the country to speed up the campaign and the expectations are to vaccinate 54,000 people per week.

At the Stade de France on Tuesday, the first volunteers will be received with a target of 10,000 injections per week.

Health Minister Olivier Veran announced that 12 million vaccines will soon arrive in the country to vaccinate 10 million as quickly as possible. Until now 9.3 million They have received a first dose and hope to be able to apply 400,000 doses per week across the country, when they are vaccinated.

For this, he is counting on the arrival of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which he needs a single injection, with 600,000 doses in May.

In a few days, the Pfizer / BioTechn vaccine bottling plant will open in Eure et Loire in France.

Vaccines became essential when, on Sunday evening, 29,000 patients received Covid and the intensive care units accommodated 5,300 patients in intensive care. A Covid peak is expected at the end of April and the capacity of intensive care has been extended to 10,000 beds.

Paris, correspondent

ap