The Academy of Medicine strongly criticizes the government's vaccine strategy.
She considers that this is going too slowly in the face of the scale of the epidemic and considers that the caution displayed risks being counterproductive.
It encourages the simplification of procedures and prioritization of heavily affected departments.
"There is no longer time to wait": the National Academy of Medicine regretted Thursday the "very slow" start of the vaccination campaign against Covid-19, deeming the precautions taken "excessive".
The Academy notes a "progressive" implementation of the campaign which began Sunday in nursing homes, due to the process of collecting consent, the search for possible contraindications in a fragile population and the patient's maintenance. observation 15 minutes after injection.
Simplify and shorten the procedure
"This extreme caution is assumed by the health authorities who rule out the possibility of simplifying these procedures during the preliminary phase. It is sanctioned by a very slow start of the program", she adds in a press release, estimating "the first assessment ( 100 people vaccinated in 3 days) difficult to defend "compared to other European countries.
"Adopted to reassure a public opinion won by hesitation, these excessive precautions risk on the contrary giving rise to a growing incomprehension vis-à-vis a campaign whose kick-off seems to lack determination", insists the Academy.
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"France deplores more than 64,000 deaths from Covid-19, including nearly a third in the high-risk population who must be vaccinated over the next eight weeks. Faced with this observation, the national immunization campaign must be exemplary in a country which has contributed so much to the elimination of infectious diseases through vaccination ".
The Academy therefore recommends "to simplify and shorten as much as possible the vaccination procedures in nursing homes".
Priority to the most affected departments
The Academy also pleads for the first phase of vaccination to be deployed "as a priority" in the most affected departments and for the "transparency" of the state of vaccine stocks so that "the implementation of the vaccine strategy n 'does not appear to be dictated by delivery contingencies ".
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The slow start of the vaccine campaign, with less than 200 injections since Sunday against thousands in Germany or Italy, arouses criticism and incomprehension in the political class and among certain doctors, but the government assumes its strategy and favors "pedagogy".