PARIS (AP) – The main stadium of the French city of Lyon opened as a mass vaccination center over Easter weekend and thousands spent the holiday queuing for injections at hippodromes, cycling tracks or other locations as France tried to speed up shots amid a new stream of corona cases.
But while Europe celebrated its second Easter in a row under the cloud of the pandemic, some cities are turning off vaccinations over the long holiday weekend – in spite of French President Emmanuel Macron’s insistence that “there are no weekends or days off during vaccination.”
Medical workers “finally need some rest,” said an official from the French city of Strasbourg, which closed vaccination facilities from Good Friday to Easter Monday, a public holiday. To ensure residents still had access to potentially life-saving vaccines, Strasbourg extended vaccination hours and administered all weekly doses between last Monday and Thursday, the official said.
Spain, Italy and Germany faced a similar vaccination problem during the holidays.
Spaniards lined up for shots on Easter Sunday in Barcelona and other places around the country, but Madrid stopped vaccinations at local health centers to give staff a break. The Spanish capital continued to fire at a football stadium, and a new hospital was built to help treat pandemics.
With Spain fearing yet another wave of infections, such as the now overwhelming French intensive care unitsSpain’s Health Minister Carolina Darias had urged regional authorities to maintain vaccinations throughout Easter week.
The French city of Sarcelles, north of Paris, was one of the cities whose vaccination center remained open on Easter Sunday, amid explosive growth and demand. The center’s organizers planned to inject 2,000 doses on Sunday – twice their daily average.
Those waiting to enter felt happy and relieved. The surrounding Val d’Oise region now has the highest coronavirus infection rate in France, and the situation in Sarcelles symbolizes how the pandemic has exacerbated existing disparities.
“The problem is with people who are not yet eligible and are in a hurry, which I understand because they want to go back to normal life,” said Dr. Majida El Mokhtari. “Unfortunately, we cannot vaccinate everyone with the doses given to us.”
The city’s working-class residents are more exposed to the virus as many cannot work remotely. In the housing projects in the area, many families live close to each other for several generations. Language barriers make figuring out vaccination schemes a challenge for many immigrants.
In Lyon, French first division football club Olympique Lyon opened its stadium and provided volunteer workers to assist medical workers and firefighters with a massive vaccination campaign that began on Saturday. The authorities plan to administer 3,000 doses per day for the first three days.
Club president Jean Michel Aulas expressed the hope that the effort would help create ‘social cohesion’ at a time of tension and uncertainty as France entered a third partial lockdown. from Sunday.
Meanwhile, the French military announced it would open seven vaccination centers from Tuesday to help inject civilians.
In Italy, those who received a vaccine in Milan on Sunday received an extra reward: an Easter cake in the shape of a pigeon and packets of pasta. According to Italian media, only one hospital in the city has administered vaccines at Easter. Among those who administered the injections at Niguarda Hospital in Milan were retired hospital doctors who volunteered their time.
“We are simply contributing to this important battle,” said Dr. COVID-19. Vincenzo Rapisarda on SkyTG24 TV.
German vaccination centers usually stayed open during the holidays, but the number of injections tends to be slower on the weekend.
The accelerated Easter campaigns in some countries of the European Union contrasted sharply with the slow start of the roll-out of vaccines in Europe over Christmas and New Year.
While France lags far behind Britain and the United States in terms of population vaccination, the pace is starting to pick up. France has administered a total of 12 million doses of vaccine, including nearly 1 million in the past three days.
Spanish authorities are accelerating vaccination efforts with the arrival of 2 million doses in the past week, the biggest fate yet. Spain had administered 8.5 million doses on Friday.
Across the Channel, authorities in Britain were planning to test a range of measures over the next few weeks, including “coronavirus status certifications” to see if they can enable people to safely return to mass gatherings in sports arenas, night clubs and concerts.
People attending a range of events, including conferences and the FA Cup of football, should be tested both before and after. The trials will also collect evidence on how ventilation and different approaches to social detachment can enable large events.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to provide more details on the coronavirus passports on Monday.
Cetinic contributed from Sarcelles, France. Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Frances D’Emilio in Rome, Sylvia Hui in London and David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed.
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