Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire (France) (AFP)
Suspended this week for the benefit of pharmacists, AstraZeneca vaccine orders will be reopened to liberal doctors "from the end of the week," Health Minister Olivier Véran told AFP on Tuesday.
"We will reopen to doctors at the end of the week the dose reservations for the week of March 22," said Mr. Véran during a trip with the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, at Cosne-Cours hospital -on-Loire (Nièvre)
The day before, the unions of liberal doctors had rebelled against a decision of the Ministry of Health, which deprived them of orders of doses this week, priority being given to pharmacists, who will begin to vaccinate next week.
Several organizations, including general practitioners from MG France and the Syndicat des Médecins Liberals (SML), have even called for the resignation of the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon.
Tuesday morning on RTL, the person however ruled out leaving office, saying to see "in this epidermal reaction of (his) colleagues as a sign of commitment, of energy for vaccination".
Doctors "have already ordered 800,000 doses for their eligible patients, there will be 800,000 more" this week, for a total of "1.6 million patients to be vaccinated in the coming days," he said.
According to Mr. Véran, out of the 1.6 million doses reserved for liberal practitioners, they have so far only recovered 400,000 from the pharmacies where they have ordered them.
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