Why is vaccination not advancing in France? The pressure is mounting against Emmanuel Macron

The French tango of the Covid 19 vaccine is burning the government, President Emmanuel Macron and all his bureaucracy. low intense pressure and trapped by the regulation of the system, the Head of State received an ultimatum from the authorities of the regions of the country: “Give speed to this snail model or we will take over.”

With accusations of incompetence from the opposition for having vaccinated less than 600 people since the start of the operation, Macron launched a new slogan: “Amplify, accelerate and simplify”.

None of these three proposals are easy in a France controlled by bureaucrats and legislation, which tie the hands to the enforceability of other European countries in the face of a health crisis. You even need permission from the attending physician to receive the vaccine and then wait 5 days to receive it.

“What we are witnessing is a state scandal”, denounced Jean Rortner, Republican President of the greater Eastern region, very affected by the virus and with a curfew since 6 hours later. -midday.

“There is a lack of preparation and an irresponsibility of the government”, he denounced. A voice that is repeated in the rest of the regions of France, where the mayors have been offering rooms, sports halls, places, professionals and volunteers since November to start a vaccination process that no one has told them about until present. The army has not yet been summoned.

The former president of the LR of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, preferred to focus his attacks on Macron. “Because of his vaccination strategy, the president made a very serious mistake. He will have to explain himself to the French,” he accused, in an interview with The Parisian.

Although he does not appear on the front line, the Head of State is organizing the counter-offensive behind the scenes. Macron played a role in the mobilization of the state summit, chairing a “follow-up meeting” on vaccination at the Elysee Palace, in the presence of the head of government, Jean Castex, and interested ministers.

“For more than three hours, working with experts, the executive yesterday tried to tighten the links in the chain, addressing issues such as” logistics, strategy, production and European coordination, “said Elíseo. The president was furious and frustrated.

More vaccination centers

“To enlarge”, as the president now requests, the Minister of Health, Olivier Veran will authorize that “the firefighters, who deal with health emergencies in France, and homework help for more than 50 years” to vaccinate, in addition to the grandparents of retirement homes and their caregivers.

A campaign that will focus on the most vulnerable. But the start of vaccination for over 75s will begin “before the end of January”. A group representing 5 million people. This week, 100 hospitals will be equipped with vaccines across the country against 27 that have them today. 100 other vaccination centers will be open in the towns of the territory this week, 300 within a few days and from 500 to 600 at the end of January.

To be vaccinated, the French will be able to register online or by phone this week or via the TousAntiCovid application to be vaccinated and obtain a day and date of vaccination.

But the problem is the vaccine stock, which has so far reached half a million doses of Pfizer-BioNtech in France and the need to receive the second inoculation more regularly. They took too long to ask for them and today the company cannot follow the production.

Pharmacies, lists

France has a veritable army ready for the vaccine: pharmacists. There is no block on an avenue in Paris where there is no pharmacy. Gilles Bonnefond, president of the Union of community pharmacists unions, recalled that pharmacists vaccinated 1.5 million people against influenza in one week. As for the logistical challenge, “it’s our job”, replied the pharmaceutical representative.

When the Minister of Health wants to simplify procedures, pharmacists have the answer. They are ready to vaccinate in their pharmacies.

“We need to extend vaccination skills to pharmacists and nurses,” suggested Gilles Bonnefond, president of the Pharmacists’ Union. “We were 15 days late. But now we need to start vaccinating the people of the city, especially in pharmacies. We are ready, ”said the pharmacist.

“We vaccinated 1.5 million people against the flu in the first week of the vaccination campaign and 3.6 million in total. We know how to do it. Patients ask us, ”he suggested.

“The vaccination procedures are the same,” added Bonnefond, who said that 35% of patients went to a pharmacy to be vaccinated against the flu “although we have been doing it for only 3 years”.

He also cited the establishment of testing campaigns against Covid in pharmacies, with more than a million tests, carried out in a week, without major problems. This is the reason why there is a white tent in front of pharmacies in France for the tests.

The only way is “complementarity” in a mass vaccination campaign. The participation of all health professionals. Is essential. “We must play the card of complementarity. We cannot vaccinate all French people alone, but neither can doctors,” Bonnefond said on behalf of the pharmacists’ union.

Respect to logistical challenge specific to the anti-Covid vaccine, the pharmacist emphasizes that “logistics are part of our job”. In fact, vaccines must be stored in specific devices coronavirus-requires-ultra-cold-argentina -izadas_0_63jkFbmjR.html “target =” _ blank “> devices capable of being cooled to 80 ° C but once the vaccine doses taken from these The “super freezers” that hospitals usually have can be stored for 5 days in a conventional refrigerator.

Thus, pharmacists in the city say they are ready to enter into an agreement with their counterparts in hospitals to manage the logistics of vaccination.

“Patients have to make an appointment a week in advance. What is essential. Then, depending on these appointments, pharmacists order the weekly doses, which they receive on Monday and administer them until Friday, for example, ”explained Bonnefond.

Another limitation: an open dose is used to vaccinate 5 people and should not be left outside for more than 5 hours. “This is why it is also important that patients make an appointment in advance to avoid wasting doses. With a little organization, what we can do is simple!”, Pleaded the representative pharmaceutical.

On the other hand, “the creation of vaccinations it would be a disaster. You have to find a little common sense, “said the pharmacist.” The H1N1 flu vaccination campaign had been a total failure because we wanted to make an exceptional drug, it was a mistake. We need to empower those who are on the ground.

In a survey in Le Figaro, 69.71% against 30.29% “do not trust the government to accelerate the vaccination rate”. 40% of French people want to be vaccinated.

A national cause

Doctors, infectologists, nurses and hospital staff are amazed at the government slowness and his explanation that skeptics must be convinced before launching a massive campaign. They see it as a childish excuse, which infantilizes people and increases anxiety.

Thirty renowned doctors met on Tuesday to challenge and criticize the government in a vaccination campaign whose start, “too slow”, according to them, “has no medical or scientific justification”.

“The risks of the vaccine are minimal, its approved benefits immense,” they wrote. They called for the creation of a “vaccine working group”, for the generalization of vaccination to caregivers and those over 65, then “quickly” to the entire population.

They also demanded a reduction in protocols and new orders of massive doses, using the formula “at all costs”, wanted by President Macron himself. We must act “quickly”, they insisted.

“The epidemic does not wait.” “It is urgent! Let’s make the Covid vaccination a great national cause!” They proposed.

According to specialists, the initial strategy validated by the High Authority for Health (HAS) consisted of starting with the people most at risk, by retirement homes, to save the most fragile lives, before curbing the epidemic by gradually vaccinating the patient.But the system was broken from the start: the procedure for consenting grandparents or their guardians, the multiple consultations required, the delays and the refusals quickly showed the limits of a system inadequate to the urgency of the situation and the expectations of many.

“There is no scientific or medical reason to delay the large-scale launch of vaccination. The vaccine is approved in France, having been evaluated according to the strictest clinical research standards and having been administered to more than one million people. The risks of the vaccine are minimal and mainly related to the immune reaction (fever, headache, muscle pain), while the proven benefits are immense, ”they assured.

The doctors’ proposal is that the logistics of the operation be entrusted to a “vaccines working group”, which has the broadest possible powers and which reports on its performance in a transparent and daily manner.

They also demanded that access to generalized vaccination be guaranteed to all caregivers, volunteers and all people over 65, then quickly to the entire French population, in vaccination centers involving experienced professionals. vaccination (nurses, pharmacists, substitute physicians, active or retired volunteers).

New orders of available vaccines must be made en masse, “whatever the cost” and without waiting for hypothetical vaccines in development, according to doctors. An allusion to the wait for a French vaccine in progress but late.

The new strain in France

This cry of alarm arose when it was discovered that the new British variant of Covid is already in Paris. It was announced by Martin Hirsch, director general of Public Assistance and Hospitals in the French capital.

“Yes, it’s in Paris. I’ve said it from the start, ”said Martin Hirsch, when asked about the new variant of the coronavirus. “It was found in a Paris laboratory by a patient from the Paris region, who was followed up and all his contacts were found. The patient is under control, ”according to Hirsch.

The vaccines existing so far are effective on this variant and its mutation. Virologists do not have the same certainties about the South African mutation, which has already reached some European countries.

Paris, correspondent