Bordeaux (AFP)

"It's a door that opens": the largest vaccine park in Aquitaine welcomed its first candidates for the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday in Bordeaux, most of them confident and reassured that they would finally be protected against the virus, with the hope of returning to "a normal life" soon.

"We did not hesitate," said Nadine and Xavier, 66 and 67 years old, arriving in front of hall 1 of the Parc des Expositions where the mega-center is installed on 3,000 m2.

For the couple with health "at risk", "it is a door which opens, one begins to see the end of the tunnel".

Why worry?

"We had vaccines when we were little, we have our children vaccinated, it's the same. We have to be confident," said Nadine.

Under a beautiful sun, the future vaccinated arrive in the drip.

The center, which will be open 7 days 7 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., will only accommodate 500 people for this first day, before ramping up.

"We will go very quickly to 750 injections and from the middle of next week, we will go to a rate of 1,000 vaccinations per day" which will then rise to 1,250, indicates the Deputy Director General of the Regional Health Agency ( ARS) Aquitaine, Hélène Junqua.

The injections are done in this center with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which reassures many applicants.

"If it had been AstraZeneca, I did not take it, I do not want to be part of the cases", assures Chantal, 67 years old, influenced by the doubts expressed about this vaccine after several deaths by thrombosis potentially linked to this vaccine .

- "Without hesitation with the Pfizer" -

Annie, 73, from Mérignac, in the suburbs of Bordeaux, also came "without hesitation because it is the Pfizer that is injected".

As soon as you enter the rather austere hall, efficiency premium, the route is all mapped out, with a simple rule "walking forward" which means "that no patient who comes in will meet anyone or be able to reverse" , summarizes the chief doctor of SDIS (Departmental Fire and Rescue Center) Philippe Bouffard who oversees operations.

"From six vaccine chains, we will go in a few days to 18 to reach 1,000 to 1,250 vaccinations per day," he says.

According to him, "we feel people are a little worried but if they have a clear explanation they agree", he underlines.

Patients quietly tread the asphalt floor from the admission stand to the vaccination area where the injections are made in small canvas alcoves, carried out by volunteer nurses.

"We make it a point of honor to be the nurses and doctors who vaccinate," says one of them, Fanny, alluding to the possibility of injections in pharmacies.

Vouchaib, 65, shows up to receive the dose, "he is a bit nervous" but it is "important it is better to protect yourself".

The ARS welcomes the influx in Bordeaux: "the schedules are filling up at a speed that astonishes us, at 11:00 am we had already reached 200 people vaccinated".

"For the doses, we have visibility until roughly the end of May on the doses we will receive, whether it is Pfizer or Moderna," Ms. Junqua assures us.

The AstraZeneca is for its part "rather used by liberal city professionals who provide 30% of the total vaccinations in New Aquitaine", she specifies.

In Nouvelle-Aquitaine, where 199 centers are now open, the incidence rate is one of the lowest in France but has recently increased to reach an incidence of more than 213 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

In Gironde, this incidence has climbed to 260, while Dordogne is the most affected department in the region with an incidence of 330. Another large center could emerge in Périgueux.

© 2021 AFP