The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 began last week at the Agen-Nérac hospital center.
In addition to residents of nursing homes and patients of Long-Term Care Units (USLD) for whom they are intended, the vaccines have been able to benefit all hospital staff aged 50 and over, or with a comorbidity liable to cause an aggravated form of disease, as well as liberal health professionals meeting the same criteria.
From Monday, January 18, vaccination will be extended to all people aged 75 and over, living at home in particular. And a second vaccination center will be opened at Nérac hospital.
241 residents and 263 caregivers vaccinated
The first phase of the vaccination campaign is thus, to date, completed. 241 residents have received the vaccine out of 420 residents due to patients who have already contracted the disease or who have recently been vaccinated against influenza, which pushes the expiry of the vaccine to three months, explained the director of the hospital, Didier Lafage, which shows the confidence of families.
For the staff of the Agen-Nérac hospital center eligible for vaccination (50 years and + or with comorbidity), this represents more than 140 medical, paramedical, medico-technical, technical and administrative staff who have already received their first injection of the Pfizer vaccine.
In addition, 123 liberal professionals have also been vaccinated since January 7.
43,000 more people 75 years of age can be vaccinated
For Didier Lafage, this mass vaccination campaign will see an increase over the months with perhaps an organization that will be revised as a result of the influx of target people and volunteers, he urges. And that solutions could emerge thanks to the greater latitude of Moderna vaccines and especially AstraZeneca soon to be on the market, in terms of more flexible constraints of cold storage. The telephone center set up at the hospital, at the Covid vaccination center, is already receiving 500 calls per day for upcoming appointments as of next Monday.
The president of the CME, Dr Jean-Marc Faucheux, for his part, indicates that 43,000 people over the age of 75 are potentially targeted by this second vaccination campaign in Lot-et-Garonne: “We have the resources, the doses of vaccines, caregivers, administrative staff “.
Even if he admits that the staff are exhausted, he notes that the mobilization remains important, as the support of retired doctors who have come to strengthen the vaccination center. Dr Faucheux notes a craze on the part of the population for the vaccine. “The message on the risks associated with the co-morbidity of developing serious forms is well received. We hope to reach at least 50 or 60% of those over 75 years old.”
To date, 14 patients are hospitalized, four in intensive care and 10 in the Covid units. But for the director like all the medical staff, the situation is still on the cutting edge, under constant pressure. There is no question of being overwhelmed at a time when the variant is approaching dangerously and especially the Agen Nérac hospital center does not intend to relax an inch in the therapeutic monitoring of other patients outside of covid.
The first stage of vaccination targeted the most vulnerable groups, recalled Didier Lafage. The second concerns people made vulnerable by age. Patients with co-morbidity and finally the general public will follow. Epidemiologists estimate that the vaccine will bear fruit in 2022, provided herd immunity is 60%.
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