The super freezer, whose temperature will drop to minus 80 ° C , has been in place and connected since Wednesday at the Nord Franche-Comté hospital. It is intended for the storage of Pfizer Covid vaccines. Its dimensions, about two meters for the width of a door, are not impressive.
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The -80 ° temperatures reached at the beginning of next week
“After a day, it is minus 27 degrees”, explains the general manager, Pascal Mathis, who specifies that the staff will have special equipment, with gloves and protective glasses, to handle the doses at this temperature. The minus 80 degrees should be stabilized early next week. The other vaccines will be stored in “normal” freezers.
Jean-Marie Girier, the prefect of the Territoire de Belfort, argues that there was no delay with regard to the objective of a vaccination start on January 12 at the Miotte nursing home in Belfort. There has been a major change in recent hours, however: nursing staff, especially after 50 years, have become a priority for vaccination, just like the residents of nursing homes.
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1,000 Covid admissions for the second wave, compared to 900 for the first
“At the hospital, we currently have 70 caregivers, including many doctors, who are on sick leave after contracting the Covid”, explains Pascal Mathis, who adds that able-bodied caregivers must compensate by chaining the guards and weekends . “They are sacrificing themselves and our situation is bad. We are at 1,000 Covid admissions for the second wave, where there were 900 for the first. The second wave was late here, but suddenly we’re going to take the third wave straight away, without a break. It is essential that healthcare workers are vaccinated as quickly as possible, so that we can cope with our full workforce, ”he says.
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The worst death rate in the country
Pascal Mathis also evokes a precarious balance: “We are beyond our theoretical capacities. We have around 10 Covid admissions per day: this means that in order not to be overwhelmed, you need 10 Covid exits per day. Our balance is played out with two or three more or less patients each day. It’s very, very tense, ”he slips. As of Friday, there were 193 hospital patients, including 21 in intensive care.
Jean-Marie Girier, for his part, insists on the bad figures for the Territoire de Belfort: “We are approaching the bar of 300 per 100,000 for the incidence rate of over 65s. We have the worst death rate in the country, ”he said.
The Nord Franche-Comté hospital will be responsible for organizing the vaccination of public and private health establishments, which will represent around 9,000 people.
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The first Covid babies are here
The Covid effect, or rather the confinement effect, is also felt in another department of the establishment: the maternity ward, which has recorded a peak in activity for a few days compared to previous years. ” Those are the first Covid babies arriving A nurse smiles. The start of the first confinement, in fact, dates back to nine months.
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