Tuesday morning, in Paris, Clémentine Autain presented his head of the list for the departments of Ile-de-France, while the regional elections must be held – unless postponed – in June. The rebellious MP is running for the presidency of the region. She dreams of dethroning the right-hander at the post, Valérie Pécresse. The emergency doctor Christophe Prudhomme represents Seine-Saint-Denis. The trade unionist has been a visible face in recent months. The crisis has shed light on the white coats parading on the TV sets. When he took the microphone to introduce himself, the emergency physician spoke – of course – about the health crisis to point the finger at government strategy.
Christophe Prudhomme also mentioned the Stade de France which has turned into a vaccinodrome. He doesn’t take it very well. He is not the only one among the rebellious. Some heads, like Raquel Garrido and William Martinet, have posted online a petition for the opening “Immediate vaccination centers everywhere” in Seine-Saint-Denis. The President of the department, Stéphane Troussel, and the mayor of Saint-Denis, Mathieu Hanotin, watch the situation differently: they welcome the grand opening of the Stade de France. On Tuesday, the Socialists inaugurated the vaccinodrome with three members of the government: Jean Castex, Gérald Darmanin and Olivier Véran. They took advantage of the event to ask the government to expand the eligible audience – including teachers and police. A point in common with the rebellious. But the disagreement on the vaccinodrome persists: interview with the emergency doctor, Christophe Prudhomme.
What’s the problem with vaccinodromes ?
I am not opposed to vaccinodromes. It is an effective operation when the doses are sufficient. However, this is not the case today. We are sorely lacking. Suddenly, doses are withdrawn in certain nearby centers. It is not normal. The vaccinodrome is a good tool for mass vaccination, but it is still necessary to have vaccines.
“The release of patents is the only way to produce a maximum of vaccines quickly, everywhere, on all continents. We are not going to solve the problem by vaccinating only the rich countries. “
— Christophe Prudhomme, head of the rebellious list for regional in Seine-Saint-Denis
You have feedback from liberal doctors on the subject ?
Yes, lots of feedback. There is a lot of anger. Yesterday, for example, I spoke with a colleague from Rosny-sous-Bois [en Seine-Saint-Denis, ndlr] who was furious. He was told that his endowment of vaccines was going to be halved to provide the Stade de France. Frankly, this is outrageous. It is a grotesque media operation. The United States, for example, has set up many vaccinodromes in large stadiums. They can do it, they have sufficient doses so they vaccinate 10,000 people per day and per location. Meanwhile, we in Seine-Saint-Denis are going to vaccinate 10,000 people per week at the Stade de France…
So vaccinodromes are useful when the doses are large ?
Yes. I do not want to put the vaccinodromes in competition with the local centers. This is not the goal, we must not oppose them. When we have enough doses, we can feed all the sites. In the meantime, we cannot undress one to dress the other and act proud in front of the cameras.
The medical staff are limited and tired. Today, he is mobilized for the wrong reasons: the colleague in Rosny-sous-Bois spent his weekend unscheduling appointments because of his decreasing staffing. And we must not forget that the principle of the vaccinodrome is interesting for people who can travel. This is not the case for everyone, especially people with reduced mobility, although they often have priority.
The number of vaccines has increased in recent weeks in France, but it remains insufficient. How to speed up ?
It is very simple. But the measures allowing to produce a maximum of vaccines are refused by the rich countries, in particular France. There is a device that allows patents to be temporarily lifted. The release of patents is the only way to produce a maximum of vaccines quickly, everywhere, on all continents. We are not going to solve the problem by vaccinating only the rich countries: the virus does not stop at the borders. We are in a situation of major crisis, what counts are not the dividends of the shareholders. Today, I do not know if we measure the extent of the madness, corporate secrecy is greater than public health. Frankly, we are walking on the head.
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