A dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, in Sevran, when the vaccine campaign starts in France, December 27 -

THOMAS SAMSON-POOL / SIPA

  • In a press release dated December 24, the Order of Physicians announced that it had obtained from the government that, for the vaccine campaign against Covid-19, health professionals and their patients will benefit from the same legal certainty as in as part of compulsory vaccination. 

  • On social media, this decision was seen as proof of the skepticism of doctors about the effectiveness of vaccines against the coronavirus. 

  • In reality, this legal mechanism, which allows for rapid compensation, does not prevent patients from going to court.

“No possible legal action against doctors in the event of serious sequelae of the Covid vaccination.

On social networks, and more particularly within the anti-vaccine movements, the legal protection of doctors called upon to vaccinate patients against the coronavirus raises questions, even indignation.

“This shows that they know nothing about the consequences of this act and that the risks are real!

“, Wants to believe a user of Twitter, who reproduces a press release from the Order of Physicians dated December 24, 2020 on the guarantees provided to professionals.

An internet user protests against the guarantees obtained by the Order of Physicians concerning the vaccination decision - Tom Hollmann

What are we talking about exactly?

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From the beginning of December, the National Council of the Order of Physicians requested that health professionals and their patients be able to benefit, as part of the vaccine campaign against Covid-19 which began this Sunday in France, the same legal certainty as for compulsory vaccination.

A demand accepted by the government and welcomed by the Order of Physicians: “full compensation for any medical accidents attributable to acts carried out during the vaccination campaign” will thus be provided by the National Accident Compensation Office medical (Oniam), a public body placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Health responsible for ensuring amicable compensation in the event of a medical accident.

Indeed, in France, since the Kouchner law of 2002, the liability regime has changed depending on whether a vaccine is made compulsory or not.

When it is not - like the vaccine against Covid-19 - four different responsibilities can be involved: that of the manufacturer, the distributor, the healthcare professional and, finally, the state.

When a vaccine is compulsory, on the other hand, a specific regime (provided for in article L3111-9 of the Public Health Code) is then put in place, with the intervention of Oniam.

With the latter, the victim can be "compensated quickly" but "can always, if she prefers, go to court," says Oniam.

It is therefore incorrect to say, as the Twitter user mentioned above, that no legal action will be possible against doctors in the event of sequelae due to vaccination.

"This measure, everyone comes out a winner"

"By passing the vaccine against Covid-19 under the compulsory vaccines regime [without, however, making it compulsory], doctors are prevented from engaging their personal responsibility for a vaccination campaign which should ultimately affect a majority of French people," and we allow the population to have a more effective legal response in the event of a problem, ”explains Dr. Jean-Marcel Mourgues, president of the“ public health ”section of the National Council of the Order of Physicians, at

20 Minutes

.

"It's a win-win."

"It is not skepticism to want a minimum of protection for health professionals", reacts Jacques Battistoni.

For the president of the union of general practitioners of France, it is important to remember that the vaccine against Covid-19 represents a formidable hope, but that it still contains some unknowns: "The health professional must imperatively respect the criteria of marketing authorizations for the vaccine, but he does not have to be responsible for what he cannot know at the moment.

"

Note that the first four days of the vaccination campaign in France did not reveal "any serious adverse effect" or "unexpected", said Thursday the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM).

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