Around 400,000 workers over the age of 55 exercising about twenty "second-line" trades in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic benefit from dedicated slots from this Saturday and for two weeks, as announced Tuesday by the Ministry of Labor.

After the teachers, here comes the turn of the "second line" workers, whose professions are essential, particularly exposed to Covid-19 and which cannot be exercised by teleworking.

400,000 new French people benefit from slots reserved to be vaccinated, from this Saturday, as part of the acceleration of the injection campaign.

Who exactly is affected and how should it be done?

Manual. 

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Which professions are concerned?

The list disseminated Tuesday evening by the ministry includes bus, ferry and river shuttle drivers, delivery men, truck drivers, taxi and VTC drivers, public transport inspectors, cleaning agents, waste collection and waste sorting centers, guard and security officers, cashiers, self-service employees and food vendors, funeral directors, slaughterhouse employees.

# COVID19 |

Vaccination slots are reserved for professionals over 55 whose activities bring them into more contact with the virus, so that they can be vaccinated more easily.⤵️https: //t.co/7hXqo0Zn0N

- Ministry of Labor (@Travail_Gouv) April 22, 2021

This list is in addition to that already announced at the end of last week (teachers, childminders, law enforcement in particular), which also concerned around 400,000 people.

How were they chosen? 

This selection was made by adding criteria to the wider list of second-line jobs identified in March in a report by Sophie Moreau-Follenfant, director of the high-voltage network operator RTE, and Christine Erhel, economist (Cnam) .

To the criteria then retained (exposure to social contacts and presence on site during the first confinement), the government added three conditions, which are not cumulative: the exercise of the profession in a closed environment, the difficulty in respecting barrier gestures and higher-risk occupations identified by the Institut Pasteur.

"For this prioritization to have meaning, a list of trades was not too long", we justify at the ministry. 

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Are there other criteria? 

Only one, of size: age.

Among the people exercising the identified professions, only those aged over 55 are eligible.

Once this criterion is taken into account, of the 4.6 million second-line workers, around 400,000 are considered by the ministry as priorities.

"This priority access responds to the health imperative to protect the French people most exposed to Covid-19," said Laurent Pietraszewski, Secretary of State for Occupational Health.

"This decision will finally allow these employees to work with serenity and security", welcomed Cyril Chabanier (CFTC), while judging that "certain employees who are not yet 55 years old should be able to be given priority in view of the risk of 'exposure". 

What vaccine will be used? 

The vaccination will be done at AstraZeneca as for other 55-59 years old.

The centers which had reserved slots for teachers or the police this weekend, however, remained little attended because of the mistrust of part of the French towards the AstraZeneca.

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How to reserve your time slot? 

Compared to the rest of the population aged over 55, the people concerned benefit, from this Saturday and for two weeks, from dedicated reservation slots in certain health centers.

The list of centers is available on the websites of the regional health agencies and appointments can be made online. 

These people must bring a declaration on their honor specifying that they exercise one of the selected professions (the Ministry of Labor offers a model on its website), a pay slip or a professional card. .

"Employers are invited to facilitate access to vaccination for their employees who have an appointment during their working time by authorizing their absence," said the ministry.