Two pharmacist unions asked the government to allow them to vaccinate the general public against the coronavirus, in order to speed up the vaccination campaign.

They are based on a survey indicating that "84% of pharmacists volunteer to get involved in dispensing vaccinations."

One week before the start of the "general public" vaccination - starting with the over 75s - pharmacists are getting impatient.

The two main pharmacists' unions pleaded Monday to take an increased part in vaccination against Covid-19, in particular through the authorization to practice it in pharmacies, expected according to them by professionals, but also by patients.

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INFORMATION EUROPE 1 - Vaccine against Covid-19: what the regional presidents are proposing

Find new methods of vaccination

"Until now, everything has been done to move us away", annoyed Gilles Bonnefond, president of the Uspo, estimating during a press point that "it is time to open the vaccination to nurses and pharmacists without physician supervision. "

"Now that we have vaccinated 15 million people in the world, it is no longer necessary to put up obstacles", he added, especially since "patients ask us every day at the counter when they will be able to come to be vaccinated, they do not understand ".

Not convinced by the vaccination centers - supposed to multiply -, he affirmed that "people will want to go to medical offices and pharmacies, not to gymnasiums" and that "from January 18, if we wants to vaccinate those over 75, we will have to find other methods ".

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Very voluntary pharmacists

His counterpart Philippe Besset, president of the FSPF, conversely said he was "at the disposal of the health authorities to provide our support" in these vaccination centers. However, he considered "important to consider vaccination in the surgeries and pharmacies, in order to reach people who will never go to these centers. "

Based on an internal survey, he assured that "84% of pharmacists are volunteers to get involved in vaccination at the pharmacy".

With more than 21,000 pharmacies spread across the country, "our network can, at full capacity, vaccinate 400,000 to 500,000 people in one day," he said.