It’s time to take stock. Or rather a check-up. Indeed, open since Monday January 18 for people aged 75 and over as well as people at risk, the Covid-19 vaccination center inAthanor in Montluçon (Allier) completed her very first month of treatment on Friday, February 12. First four weeks marked by the lack of doses available, having forced the teams to reorganize. Christian Quach, general practitioner in Huriel and coordinator of this site, gives us his diagnosis. Interview.
Doctor Quach, what is your assessment after this first month of vaccination at Athanor?
Christian Quach : “Initially our center was designed to receive 1,800 doses of vaccine per week and to operate from Monday to Saturday. But the shortage of endowments forced us to reconsider our plans. As a result, in one month we were able to vaccinate about 4,090 people, or an average of 1,000 per week. And we have decided to only open the center on Thursdays, Fridays and, if necessary, Saturdays, depending on the stocks we have. “
No incident to report?
cq: “No, we had no serious side effects to deplore. Only a few discomfort locally, redness or pain in the arm. But it is also found with other vaccines such as the flu. “
“The second injection seems a bit more responsive, with more arm pain and fatigue. But it rarely goes beyond 24 to 48 hours, so nothing to worry about. “
Christian Quach (Coordinator of the Montluçon center)
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1,109 anti-covid vaccination centers have been opened in France: how far from your home is the nearest?
You’re talking about the second dose. Have any already been administered?
cq: “This will be the case from this Monday. In fact, each person who comes to give Athanor their first injection leaves with their appointment for the second, respecting the waiting period between the two depending on the type of vaccine. We program this directly on site, no one is half-treated. “
Despite the supply problems do you remain convinced of the usefulness of this campaign? The effectiveness of vaccines?
cq: “Yes, this is our only alternative to roll back the pandemic. The Pfizer vaccine, the one mainly used in France, is effective from the second dose up to 95%. It is therefore a protection… at 95%. “
This means that even vaccinated, we must continue to respect barrier gestures and distancing, as long as everyone has not been vaccinated, that the figures have not dropped. But I do understand people’s impatience with the lack of doses.
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Production problems at Pfizer / BioNTech factories in Europe slow vaccination [16/01/2021]
We are indeed far from the projections made in mid-January …
cq: “The State has announced that all French adults who wish to be able to be vaccinated by the end of summer … But if we continue at this rate we will not even have finished treating the over 75s this summer? ! We hope for an acceleration, because there are 66,000 inhabitants in the Montluçonnais basin, so if we stay at 1,000 doses per week as is currently the case it will be long. “
Exactly, explain to us how the vaccines are distributed and then sent to Montluçon?
cq: “These are endowments, managed by the government, which are allocated to us. They arrive every week at the Moulins-Yzeure hospital center, by special trucks at -80 ° C. Then they are placed in super freezers. Once out of these, we have five days to transport them from Moulins to Montluçon and administer them to Athanor. “
“We do not keep anything in reserve, we inject everything, we do not withhold the vaccine. May people be assured of that. It’s already complicated enough for them. “
empty (empty)
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In the agglomeration of Montluçon (Allier), at the initiative of the Region, minibuses will take the elderly to be vaccinated [03/02/2021]
Especially for making appointments?
cq: “Yes, in fact they are opened according to the promise of doses. At the national level, the state has just sent an injunction to vaccination centers to create more appointment slots until March. The goal is to stall at least 900 per week. It’s an injunction, we’re going to do it. “
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New appointments will be available in Athanor from this start of the week, via Doctolib.fr or the toll-free number (0801.902.409). By really wishing that the endowments follow …
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Finally, what about the opening of a second center on the pelvis? Has Huriel’s name been mentioned?
cq: “It’s possible, but not at the moment. The idea is first of all to stabilize the rhythm in Athanor. Because we really have teams that are doing very well, with around a pool of 140 nurses and a hundred doctors who can be mobilized. If the doses of vaccines increase, we have the human and logistical means to vaccinate 500 people per day, or even more by reorganizing ourselves. And then, yes, then opening another center will be a good thing. In particular on Huriel because this would make it possible to cover all the west of the territory. “
The opening of three new vaccination sites against Covid-19 envisaged in the Allier [11/02/2021]
Text: Luc Barre
Photos: Cécile Champagnat and Florian Salesse
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