Vaccination: Emmanuel Macron reveals to elected officials his avenues to accelerate France’s strategy (Illustration) – Stephane Lemouton-POOL / SIPA
Emmanuel Macron unveiled Tuesday evening to local elected officials of Touraine, that he met for two hours at Tours , the broad outlines of the acceleration of the vaccine strategy, criticized for its slowness, reported elected officials after the meeting.
“The President of the Republic told us that there would be two phases: one until the end of March to vaccinate the most vulnerable and caregivers, with a simplification of the collection of consent in Ehpad ”, explained the president of the departmental council of ‘Indre-et-Loire Jean-Gérard Paumier.
A “broader, influenza-like” strategy
“Then, a much broader strategy, which he called influenza type, as we made today for the flu, with vaccines that are easier to keep ”.
For the first phase, the executive intends to install in January, five or six centers per department, a bit on the model of the Covid screening centers – 19 implemented in recent months, Emmanuel said Macron, according to pa participants in this meeting which included 16 elected. The Head of State felt that it was necessary to “simplify” the collection of the consent of nursing home residents, because the methods initially adopted, in accordance with ethical requirements, were “an obstacle to efficiency”
A “departmentalization” of vaccination
Emmanuel Macron also announced to elected officials that a communication campaign on vaccination would be launched. “The faster we can vaccinate people who wish to do it, the better it is,” said the head of state, according to the president of the department.
Jean-Gérard Paumier, who had sent the Head of State a letter to claim this deconcentration, is congratulated on a “departmentalization” of vaccination. “This recognition of the actors in the field seems to me to bode well,” he said.
Faced with the many criticisms on the slow start of the vaccine campaign in France compared to Germany or the United Kingdom, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran announced Tuesday morning that vaccination would be accelerated and simplified. In particular, he announced that vaccination would be authorized in January for more than 50 years who are not nursing homes, i.e. five million people, as well as firefighters and home helpers over 50 years. The Minister also announced the establishment of 75 vaccination centers intended for the city this week, 190 next week and 5 to 310 by the end of January. This corresponds to the five or six centers per department mentioned by Emmanuel Macron.