With its 15 doctors, the AIST has been vaccinating every day for nearly a year and is working with employers and employees to increase vaccination coverage.
It’s been almost a year now since occupational medicine, the interprofessional occupational health association (AIST), turned into a vaccination center for the 67,000 employees of the 7,700 member companies in western Herault.
However, despite its 15 doctors, Biterroise occupational medicine sometimes struggles to vaccinate en masse. A fault shared between the protocols, to the reluctance of some or even the ignorance of some employers.
“At first we only had Astrazeneca and people didn’t want it, then we had Moderna, it was fine until people only wanted Pfizer, details Dr. Vaissiere. Not to mention the special fridges we had to have etc.”
An observation acquiesced by Alain Aussenac who nevertheless adds, “It took a while to set up but the results are good”. In 2021, the AIST vaccinated just under 1,000 employees and, on this Friday January 28 alone, Dr Vaissiere and her colleagues vaccinated around twenty people. Enough to actively participate in the nearly 91% of first-timers in the department.
A medical truck to vaccinate on site
In contrast, “today out of 10 or 12 consultations, there are at least 2 people who still categorically refuse”, reveals the doctor. And yet, the AIST is not stingy with efforts to seek out these few refractories.
“We advise people, we receive their calls, we continue our role of prevention, we keep a close relationship with employees by introducing a lot of pedagogy, explains Katia Grisero, director of occupational medicine in Béziers.
In compliance with the strict protocol, we can even go to certain companies with our medical truck to vaccinate on site. An action that had been carried out in the buildings of Leroy Merlin. And, the AIST intends to make employers more aware of their rights in order to increase, in particular, vaccination coverage.
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