In Quebec, compulsory vaccination of nursing staff has been postponed by one month. Meanwhile in France, this procedure is already in place.
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“The questions you have, we had the same thing in France. It lasted a few weeks,” explained Dr. Patrick Bellux, president of the Association of Emergency Physicians of France.
“There are currently a few thousand people who do not want to be vaccinated,” Dr. Billox added. “I think what worked the most was practically seeing everyone who didn’t want to get vaccinated explain the need to do so.”
About 2.5 million people work in health institutions in France, and the vaccination obligation extends to many professions: nurses, officials, stretcher carriers, paramedics, and more.
Between September 15 and last October 15, health workers working in health care institutions in France had to prove that they had started the vaccination process, while receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. From October 15, French nursing staff must be fully vaccinated in order to continue to practice their profession.
In addition, people who come to the hospital must show a health card.
Dr. Bello notes that unions and labor associations in France also helped persuade caregivers to vaccinate.
“They were somewhat proactive because precisely, we had a lot of caregivers who died of COVID a year ago, and that affected the teams a lot,” he said.
Successful vaccination campaign
The vaccination policy is working well in France, according to Dr. Bello.
“We are the country in the world with the highest vaccination rate,” he notes. Transmission rates have collapsed everywhere in France, so that’s a very good sign. The epidemic stopped, so the country started again, and the liberties began anew.”
As in Quebec, there are still a number of demonstrations in France.
“Obviously there are people who have questions about the vaccine,” Dr. Bilox notes. I would just like to reiterate that COVID vaccines are the most closely monitored vaccines ever in the history of science, health, and medicine. Billions of doses have been administered and there are no consequences.”
According to him, the situation in France is a global example.
“We were able to curb the epidemic,” he asserts. “That doesn’t mean it won’t start over if there is an alternative that breaks the vaccine.”
According to him, vaccination is worth the trouble of restoring some freedom.
“All theaters started again in France precisely because everyone knows that, in theaters, everyone is vaccinated, so there is very little chance of catching the virus, or if you do catch it, it’s in a mild form.”