• In Paris as throughout France, more and more vaccination centers are closing their doors.

  • In question, a drop in demand, while nearly three quarters of the general population in France has a complete vaccination schedule.

  • It is now a question of refocusing the vaccine offer by targeting the most vulnerable people.

"Hello, the vaccination center, where is it please?"

"" Ah, it closed on Friday!

There were no crowds on Tuesday at Station F, in the 13th arrondissement of the capital.

The site, which hosts the largest start-up campus in the world, has hosted the vaccination center previously located at Porte de Versailles this summer.

But that was before he lowered the curtain.

In recent weeks, all over Paris and France, anti-Covid vaccination centers seem to be closing one after the other.

But is this a good sign?

Cascading closures

On the forecourt of the town hall, in the heart of Paris, tourists stroll, taking advantage of the few rays of sun that pierce through the gray sky. They have all the room for them, the ephemeral vaccination center has also just closed its doors. "It closed Sunday evening," said a municipal agent. The barnum was immediately dismantled ”. In the center of the square, inside a space delimited by security barriers, elements of the structure - metal posts and wooden planks - stacked up, attest to the still recent presence of the ephemeral center.

A few minutes away, the vaccination center on rue Malher is well open. And there is no crowd. Yolande just comes out, the date of her meeting written on a little piece of paper that she still holds in her hand. The septuagenarian, eligible for a third dose of vaccine but unfamiliar with digital tools, came on foot to make an appointment. "I was thinking of going back to the vaccination center on rue Amelot, but I learned that it had closed for good."

And others will follow very quickly.

The vaccination center of the 8th arrondissement town hall will close on October 29.

The one in Salle Olympe de Gouge, in the 11th district, will cease its activity the next day, and that of SOS Médecins Porte Pouchet, in the 17th district, will stop vaccinations two days later.

Thus, out of "the 28 permanent centers opened in Paris since January, supplemented by a series of ephemeral centers in various places", only "13 will continue their activity in November", indicate the City of Paris, the ARS Ile-de- France and the Paris Police Prefecture in a press release.

An offer adapted to declining demand

Should we deplore these closures? Not necessarily. As a result of the market, the supply of vaccination centers has been reassessed according to demand - the number of people likely to be vaccinated - on the decline. Faced with the slowdown in the vaccination campaign, the government announced in September that it would consider closing the centers by the fall, or by February 2022 at the latest. These closures are thus taking place in favor of relatively high vaccination coverage.

Thus, to date, more than three quarters (76.39%) of the general population have received at least one dose, and 73.9% of French people are fully vaccinated, according to figures from Covid Tracker. Among those 65 and over, 13.7% received a booster dose (the third, therefore), according to data from the latest epidemiological bulletin from Public Health France. And in Paris, the need for vaccination centers is even lower, since "88% of eligible Parisians are now fully vaccinated", indicates the municipality. It is now a matter of refocusing the vaccine offer by targeting people eligible for a third dose, but also populations who have not yet been vaccinated at all.

To reach them, the City of Paris and the ARS are counting on “reinforced coverage of the districts of north-eastern Paris, in which the vaccination coverage rate appears to be still lower than the Parisian average.

The centers maintained would also be able to increase their injection capacity if necessary ”.

Promote local vaccination

In this context of reduction in the number of centers, it is now for the government to strengthen the “go to” system, designed to bring the vaccine closer to the most vulnerable people. Eligible people can thus turn to city health professionals, from whom the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been available for a few weeks. “To date, 32% of injections are carried out at their level in Paris. Thus, Parisians can turn to their attending physician, who can vaccinate them or refer them to another solution in town, such as pharmacists, a growing proportion of whom practice vaccination, ”confirms the City of Paris.

Among these "levers mobilized to vaccinate all French people", the government is also counting on "the installation of ephemeral vaccination centers, the mobilization of mobile vaccination units and the sensitization of attending physicians to vaccinate at home", as well. a toll-free number set up to facilitate home vaccination for seniors.

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  • Anti-covid vaccine

  • Vaccination

  • Paris

  • epidemic

  • Covid 19

  • Coronavirus

  • Health