City pharmacists have done the math: 60% of them are out of stock of influenza vaccines after having passed, in one week, more than 5 million, or half of those issued in 2019.

"Pharmacists are going to be dry," assured Gilles Bonnefond, president of the Union of Unions of Community Pharmacists (USPO) at a press conference Tuesday, October 20, indicating that "the 40% of the remaining vaccines are expected. yet to be delivered ".

"We are asking the industry to speed up the second delivery", he added, "otherwise 92% of pharmacists will be out of stock before the end of the week".

>> To read also: "With the arrival of the seasonal flu, rush on vaccines and fears of shortage"

Many calls have been made in favor of this vaccination, in particular by the Academy of Medicine, learned pediatric societies or members of the majority.

The goal: to prevent flu patients from adding to those of Covid-19 and further clogging hospitals.

In addition to what the laboratories should deliver to French pharmacies (13 million doses of vaccines against 11 last year), the State had announced that it wanted to recover additional doses on the European market.

“Between 1 and 2 million doses that will hit the market in December,” according to the USPO.

The most fragile in principle have priority

"I am surprised today to hear that companies such as insurers and communities have vaccines and are vaccinated by their establishment nurse or by the occupational physician. I thought we had said that vaccines had to be reserved this year for priority people, those who had a voucher (for health insurance coverage, Editor's note)? "Asked Gilles Bonnefond, for whom" it's a huge failure ".

The flu vaccination campaign, which began a week ago, primarily targets people vulnerable to the virus, i.e. nearly 16 million people at risk (over 65, people with certain diseases, including asthma , diabetes, major obesity, pregnant women ...).

316,060 liberal health professionals are also priority.

Seasonal flu affects 2 to 6 million people each year.

It causes tens of thousands of emergency room visits and kills 10,000 on average.

With AFP

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