PARIS (AP) – As governments across Europe started their virus vaccination plans with fanfare this weekend, France took a more low-key approach due to widespread skepticism among its citizens about the vaccines.
After the first shots were injected into the arm of 78-year-old Mauricette, a woman in a long-term care facility near Paris on Sunday, President Emmanuel Macron appealed to his fellow countrymen: “Let’s have faith in our investigators and doctors. We are the nation of the Enlightenment and of (vaccine pioneer Louis) Pasteur. Reason and science should guide us. “
Still, many of his fellow countrymen are concerned. They recall the French health scandals of recent decades, including those involving poorly managed vaccines. They fear the coronavirus vaccines may have been developed too quickly, are intended to make a profit for large pharmaceutical companies, or risk long-term side effects that the world will not discover for years.
France has lost more lives to the virus than most countries, and its economy – one of the largest in the world – has been severely paralyzed by two lockdowns of viruses. Doctors hope France’s hesitation to vaccinate will fade as more people are vaccinated.
Dr. Jean-Jacques Monsuez, a 65-year-old cardiologist in a nursing home northeast of Paris, was France’s second vaccine recipient on Sunday. After he and several elderly patients were injected, he said, “They’ve been vaccinated, we’ve been vaccinated, we’re all in this together. And the boat cannot sink.
“And around the boat there is a land that cannot sink.”
Politicians from the far right and far left in France have fueled concerns about vaccines, but polls commissioned by the national health service suggest skepticism is also coming from some moderate voters.
Justine Lardon is walking with a crutch after severe side effects from a hepatitis B vaccine in 2010, and is unsure whether she wants to get vaccinated against the virus. She told regional newspaper Le Progres that she supports vaccination, but is concerned that doctors are not paying enough attention to individual health problems.
“If (the vaccine) can wipe out the epidemic, that’s really great, but I don’t want a vaccine that’s a time bomb,” she says.
The French government has been careful in its reporting and wants to make sure it is not seen as a forced vaccination of the public. Instead, authorities rely on doctors to convince patients that the vaccine is in their best interest and that of the country.
Macron reiterated on Sunday that the vaccine will be free – and not mandatory.
France’s first vaccination was not broadcast live on television like elsewhere, and no government ministers were present. No top official has said they get the vaccine, instead they have insisted it go to the most vulnerable first.
In a country with a large population of elderly people, including many with cognitive impairments, the government came under pressure from concerned families to devise comprehensive guidelines for obtaining consent from nursing home patients before vaccination.
However, many French would like to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
“I am very moved,” said Mauricette when told that she was the first in France to receive the vaccine. “You’re a star,” said the medic who administered it, after carefully folding Mauricette’s sleeve over the bandage on her upper arm.
‘We didn’t have to convince her. She said, “Yes, I am prepared for anything to prevent this disease,” said Dr. Samir Tine, head of the geriatric service at her facility in Sevran, northeast of Paris.
“It’s an important day,” said Tine. “We really want to have a new weapon at our disposal, and we really want to rediscover our normal life.”
France reports the highest number of viral infections in Western Europe and is among the highest death toll, with 62,573 lives lost. Nearly a third died in nursing homes, so the government decided to give the vaccine to the elderly first, as well as some high-risk medical workers.
Health Minister Olivier Veran warned in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche newspaper published on Sunday that the pressure on hospitals could increase again, saying that the government does not rule out a third lockdown.
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