In Paris, in front of the vaccination center of the town hall of the 5th arrondissement, the queues that snaked on the sidewalk facing the Place du Panthéon are a distant memory. This Friday, March 18, it is drop by drop that patients enter through the small swing door, like Françoise, an 89-year-old resident of the district. “I heard that people over 80 could get a 4thdose. I was passing by by chance and I entered, she says. I had a hard time getting an appointment for the first three; it happened immediately. »
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The site had experienced, particularly during the recall campaign last fall, queues of “150 meters, or nearly 400 people received every day”, remembers Zacharie Mesri, a temporary nurse in charge of welcoming patients. With less than 100 daily visits, the center will close its doors at the end of March, as the majority of the 1,500 vaccination centers have already started to do, at the request of the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.
It is up to doctors, pharmacists and nurses to take over from these structures that were hastily set up in early 2021 to meet the challenge of massive and rapid vaccination against Covid-19. Led by the regional health agencies (ARS), they have helped to raise France to its current level of vaccination, i.e. nearly 79% of the population with a complete scheme, thanks to the injection of more than 141 million doses. .
An “impressive energy”
Within them, health professionals have forged strong ties. “Something unprecedented was born thanks to this mobilization. From eight at the start, we have grown to 96 speakers, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists… We all know each other, we talk to each other; this joint work abolished the usual medical hierarchy. There was an impressive energy”enthuses Doctor Gilles Valin, responsible for the vaccination center of the town hall of the 5th.
A cohesion that Caroline De Pauw, sociologist and director of the regional union of health professionals (URPS doctors) was also able to observe: “Caregivers have found solidarity, unity and team spirit during a time marked by uncertainty. This created group dynamics, links between professionals who, in normal times, did not have time to see each other. »
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These connections perhaps partly explain the effectiveness of their organization, recognized by many users: “I did my different doses in three different Parisian centers and, each time, everything went flawlessly. The pandemic has brought to light some extraordinary people”testifies Gisèle Godart, a resident of Ve, who came with her husband to take their 4th dose.
A principle of reality
“It will be hard for caregivers to turn the page, but the decision to close the centers responds to a principle of reality. Their activity today is extremely low,” notes Caroline De Pauw. In Saint-Quentin (Aisne), a territory facing the problem of medical deserts, the closure of the three centers of the city has been anticipated for several months, specifies Béatrice Berteaux, the deputy mayor in charge of health. “Little by little, we saw the appointments drop. NOTWe have set up mobile vaccination, scheduled until the end of May, for people who cannot travel, especially in the countryside.»describes the elected, for whom these centers have been a real asset, even if, today, they no longer correspond to the reality of needs.
There remains the possibility of a generalization of the 4th dose. According to Dr. Vallin, this booster injection, now recommended for immunocompromised people and those over 80, could, by the fall, be imposed on the entire population. A scenario in which he does not rule out a reopening of the centers. “It will be no problem.. Everyone has gained experience, the structures have proven to be agile and flexible in dealing with the vagaries of a very unpredictable pandemic,” anticipates Caroline De Pauw, according to whom the bridges created between caregivers must be perpetuated in order to consider future crises more calmly.
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Vaccination update
While the 4e dose, or 2e booster dose, was opened by the government to people over 80, the High Authority for Health (HAS) decided on Friday March 18 to open it to people over 65 “most at risk”.
79.45% of over 75s received three doses, a figure that rises to 86% for 65-75 year olds.
19.1% of the population received no dose, all age categories combined.
As of March 10, people over 60 accounted for 80% of patients hospitalized with Covid-19.
With the spread of the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, the seven-day daily average of cases is on the rise; 89,002 cases compared to 65,251 a week ago.