The Minister of Health Olivier Véran and that of overseas, Sébastien Lecornu, went to meet the nursing teams of the CHU of Fort-de-France in Martinique.

The objective for the government is to overcome the mistrust of the Martinican and Guadeloupe populations and convince all the inhabitants of the need to be vaccinated.

A challenge?

REPORTAGE

Strict confinement, reinforcements of caregivers, and soon "reinforcements of reinforcements": the executive ensures to put all the means in front of a health situation "without common measure" in the Antilles, while it tightens the screw in metropolis.

First affected, the West Indies have record incidence rates, approaching 2,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Indeed, barely one in five Martinicans has a complete vaccination schedule.

The Minister of Health Olivier Véran and his counterpart from overseas, Sébastien Lecornu, made the trip to the CHU of Fort-de-France to take stock of the situation. 

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Caregivers mobilized "to the end"

As soon as they arrived at the Martinique CHU on Thursday, the ministers were greeted by dozens of healthcare workers determined to continue the fight and to refuse vaccination.

Among the demonstrators present, Sylvestre, a nurse who does not intend to change her mind.

"Until the end I do not intend to be vaccinated, until the end I will stay mobilized. I am focused on prevention and there are other ways to ensure that people do not succeed. Hospital. From the first symptoms, there is something to treat. We must anticipate so as not to happen to this disaster, "she says.

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Mistrust vis-à-vis the vaccine, but also the government.

And this despite the various announcements of the executive in Guadeloupe and Martinique.

Because as Yoann Dupée, a security company manager explains, trust is shattered.

"The vaccine does not protect enough or even just short of contaminations. And we have reason to be wary of the French state," he says.

The Minister of Health has however done everything to affirm the support of the State to the populations of Martinique and Guadeloupe. 

"The hour is no longer for doubts"

Olivier Véran notably announced the imminent arrival of innovative treatments based on monoclonal antibodies.

On Thursday, during his trip, he also called to question: "What will we look at the collective attitude that we will have had during this period of the Covid? While hospitals are filling up, we are still there to question us to know if we wait before going to be vaccinated? ", he criticized.

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The minister also pointed out that many patients hospitalized at the CHU of Fort-de-France are young unvaccinated, sometimes without comorbidities, "in good health a few days ago", but "today on the intubated stomach, ventilated, in a coma, in intensive care units ". 

So, "I say to people who are wondering 'come'. Come, ask to see the health situation as it is, ask the patients who are in stretchers in the corridors and in the intensive care units. (…) Come and look reality in the face and then dare to look at the populations by saying 'We must not be vaccinated, there would be doubts'. The time is no longer for doubt. It has been a long time since doubts were removed , there are months and months of hindsight on these vaccines, billions of humans who have been vaccinated, you have to get started, "he urged.