2023-10-02 17:28:05
REPORTAGE – The new vaccination campaign once morest Covid-19 began this Monday, October 2, two weeks in advance due to the increase in cases during September.
Guillaume, his eyes glued to his phone, waits on a chair next to the counter of a pharmacy in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. This 60-year-old entrepreneur took time out of his lunch hour to get vaccinated once morest Covid-19. “My wife is quadriplegic, it is essential that I do this so as not to put her in danger“, he explains. Behind the counter, pharmacists bustle around customers, prescriptions in hand. “We have a lot of people», says one of them in a rush.
This Monday, October 2, marks the launch of the new vaccination campaign once morest Covid-19. Accustomed to booster doses every year since 2020, hundreds of Parisians have already rushed for doses. At 11 a.m. this morning, a pharmacy in the Opéra district, in the center of the capital, had already vaccinated “five or six people“. And this is only the beginning, confides the pharmacist: “I think the influx of patients will fall on us” during the week. “We have a lot of requests», confirms another pharmacist who works in the 17th arrondissement.
New formula
But the pharmacies are prepared. A large part of them had planned this wave of vaccination. “We had ordered a large stock of doses», Informs the Opéra pharmacist, a mask on his face. However, not all pharmacies can vaccinate their patients. A few meters away, a pharmacist declares that she does not have room in her pharmacy: “We are not going to push the walls. So we did not order vaccine vials.»
The professional also adds that she works, “anyway, mainly thanks to tourism“. According to Pierre-Olivier Variot, president of the Union of Community Pharmacists’ Unions (USPO), “19,000, out of 21,000, pharmacies in France vaccinate“. Vaccination can also be carried out by a general practitioner, a nurse, a midwife or a dental surgeon.
Vaccination mainly targets those over 65
So, who are those who come to be vaccinated? “Mostly people over 60 years old», Says a pharmacist located near the Pereire metro stop (in the 17th). But not only that: Parisians are showing up, all ages, notes one of his colleagues from the 9th arrondissement. “People today are well documented and come for a very specific reason», he explains.
Vaccination mainly targets those over 65, fragile people, people with comorbidities or immunocompromised people, pregnant women, and nursing home residents. But all people wishing to receive a booster dose can apply for it free of charge, provided they respect a deadline of six months following their last injection or Covid-19 infection.
This vaccination campaign was particularly anticipated, in particular to protect once morest new variants. “A new vaccine has been prepared for this fall», Announced Brigitte Autran, president of the Health Risk Monitoring and Anticipation Committee (Covars), this Monday morning on France Info. Its RNA has been modified to fight once morest the now majority variant: Eris (or EG 5) and Pirola (BA.2.86). “We received this new formula on Saturdayreports the Pereire pharmacist. People came to ask us every day last week.»
“We didn’t let ourselves be surprised”
Initially scheduled for mid-October, this vaccination campaign was brought forward by two weeks due to the increase in cases. “The Covid-19 epidemic has started once more earlier than expected“, explained Brigitte Autran. The first cases were observed during the summer and “increased gradually in September“, she continued before assuring: “We didn’t let ourselves be surprised.»
In pharmacies, requests for tests are indeed on the rise once more, indicate professionals at Figaro. But few people get tested.
Benjamin Davido, infectious disease specialist at the Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches, guest on France Inter this Monday morning, deplored this situation: “The Covid-19 figures are extremely vague. […] There is no longer any indicator, the SI-DEP network is no longer working. We fell from one extreme to the other: from all screening to no screening at all.» Thus, Brigitte Autran recalls that to minimize the risks of development of “severe forms» of the disease and “avoid going to the hospital“, vaccination remains largely “recommended».
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