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PARIS (AP) – Although the majority of health workers in France are vaccinated against COVID-19, a small but noisy minority are resisting. And as infections rise, a bill that makes vaccinations mandatory is highlighting the divide.
The French government, which has declared that the nation has officially entered its “fourth wave” of coronavirus, promoted an initiative that makes it mandatory for health workers to be vaccinated against the disease, in order to protect hospitals and avoid re-confinement. Gabriel Attal, a government spokesman, said the action is not aimed at stigmatizing workers who do not want to be vaccinated, but rather aims to limit the risks for the vulnerable people they serve.
The bill, adopted by Parliament on Monday, also implements the “health pass” for the entire population so that they can enter restaurants and other public establishments. Both measures have sparked heated debate and protests on two weekends in a row across the nation. Health workers, dressed in their white coats, have participated in the demonstrations.
Many have mentioned incorrect information about vaccines circulating on the internet, that they fear their long-term effects or that they want more time to make a decision. Several health workers said they have problems with the order, not so much with the vaccines.
At a protest in Paris, some carried signs with phrases such as: “My body, my decision” and a worker dressed as the Statue of Liberty pointed out that it was an “act of violence” to force people to get vaccinated.
Solene Manable, who recently graduated from nursing school and works in a hospital in Lille, said: “There are many health workers who do not want to be vaccinated because they do not know much about vaccines.”
The scientists pointed out that this is no longer true. The vaccines used in France – those developed by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson – have been tested in thousands of people around the world, and the results of the studies have been shared with the public. More than 2 billion people globally have been vaccinated against COVID-19, including the majority of adults in France, offering a broad view of the impact of vaccines on people’s health.
Reluctance to get vaccinated among some health workers has been a problem in several countries. But the French mandate is stirring ire on the political fringes of a country long considered more skeptical of vaccines than its European neighbors.
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Nicolas Garriga and Boubkar Benzebat in Paris contributed to this report.
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