“We have the information in droplets”, sighs a pharmacist from Villeurbanne (Rhône), “by colleagues or by the press”. Like this professional, all city pharmacists are preparing to receive by Wednesday February 17 the next delivery of vaccines against Covid-19, from the AstraZeneca laboratory, a first for them: 700 000 doses must be sent to France on this occasion. Pharmacists will not yet be able to vaccinate, they will only initially be an intermediary between wholesale distributors and doctors.
In his dispensary in Villeurbanne, Maxime Péry Monis performs 400 injections per year against the flu. He says he is ready to vaccinate against Covid-19: “We already have a fridge to store vaccines. This is the advantage of the AstraZeneca vaccine, is that we need to keep it between 2 and 8 degrees, so we have all the equipment to [contrairement au vaccin Pfizer-BioNTech, qui se conserve à -70° degrés].“
From February 25, doctors, pharmacists, nurses and midwives will be able to vaccinate 50-64 year olds with co-morbidities. In terms of training, no need for many new elements either, continues the pharmacist. : “It is a training similar to the training of influenza vaccination, therefore, we have already received the majority. Currently, the unions offer us additional training to be able to answer questions, on questions related to side effects, in particular , which worries the population. “
“I think we will maybe start even before the doctors, because us, it’s easy for people. They come, they go through the door and presto, we take a shot.”
Christine Chambon, pharmacist
to franceinfo
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In most pharmacies, there is still a certain vagueness about this vaccination against Covid-19. In another pharmacy in Villeurbanne, Christine Chambon has to make her customers wait : “We are not really well informed and the wholesalers are not well informed either. They do not know how much we are going to receive. It is true that our customers, all day long, ask us. day, they are told ‘Wait, it will happen.’ People are impatiently waiting for the vaccine, for them, it is deliverance. “
For the professional, things could go very quickly : “We are ready, us, overnight, it can happen and we start to sting. The doctors already have a lot of appointments. They cannot make appointments like that, day to day. us, yes. There is more than, we are waiting. We are all at attention !” The demand, she adds, comes mainly from the elderly, who will not be able to be vaccinated with an AstraZeneca dose, since this AstraZeneca vaccine has been validated by the High Authority of Health, but not for those over 65 years old. .
Several hundred kilometers away, in Morbihan this time, in Auray, Agnès Gasnier has also prepared everything : “When a large quantity of vaccines arrives, (for the flu, for example, I receive 1000 doses), it is that fridge, plus an entire fridge, in the reserves. This year, the one I have in reserve, it will be dedicated only to vaccines against the Covid. If it is necessary to store a little more, I will go and buy a second fridge. “ A classic fridge, with a probe and other security, explains the pharmacist.
“Where we have to be careful, it’s to plan for any power cut in our fridge. That’s why we are going to pamper our fridge.”
Agnès Gasnier, pharmacist
to franceinfo
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Agnès Gasnier does not yet know when her wholesalers will deliver the first AstraZeneca vaccines to her : “We absolutely do not know the number of doses. We do not know at all the procedure, to know how it will happen. Quite honestly, our information, we have it a little bit at the same time as everyone, through the media . “ As a first step, the pharmacist will reserve her vaccines for doctors, who will vaccinate in their offices, their patients aged 50 to 64, with comorbidity. Then, within a few weeks against the deliveries will be more important, Agnès Gasnier should obtain authorization to vaccinate in her pharmacy.
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