Paris (AFP)
A point of passage and gathering of couriers from the Ile-de-France region, the Place de la République in Paris has been welcoming since Monday and for a few days a vaccination center against Covid-19, which primarily targets this precarious public.
Black and white cap, blue glasses and tattoos on the calves, Mauricio displays a relaxed athletic style.
"Doesn't it hurt, I imagine? I'm not going to cry?" Asks this 35-year-old Mexican, in France since 2013, when getting vaccinated.
Before putting things into perspective: "I have already been stung by a scorpion ..."
Delivery man for a subcontractor of La Poste, this trained architect was vaccinated unexpectedly, in a few minutes, in one of the 4 barnums installed for a minimum of 5 days - the test could be repeated - in a corner of the square, famous for its monumental statue and its events.
"I was working, I went for a coffee, I saw the center, people called me: + Come and get vaccinated +!"
- "I'm gonna think about it" -
The mediators of the Red Cross stroll to convince the precarious public, and in particular the bicycle delivery men, many on this crossing point, to go and be vaccinated.
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"Some come convinced, others to get information, take the temperature, see how it goes and surely come back later", hopes Lena Uvalle, a 20-year-old student who works as a mediator.
Like this delivery man who left after discussion, and who remains to be convinced.
"There are controversies over the vaccine, I'm in between, I'm going to think again," explains the man who speaks both French and Arabic.
"No one can assure that in the long run there will be no side effects."
A little less skeptical, others have taken the plunge.
Even if he is "a little" afraid of the vaccine because it has been "said badly", Azimollah, a 24-year-old Afghan refugee, waits the 15 minutes after vaccination.
And explains in summary French that it was "complicated to make an appointment like that" and that the notification received via the Uber Eats application decided it.
In consultation with the Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Frichti platforms, the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency (ARS) has sought to tailor-make this so-called "go-to" operation which should facilitate access to vaccination.
"Previously, the procedures would have been a little more annoying, then I take advantage of it, I tell myself that it must be done now", abounds Guillaume, delivery man of 46 years, who still fears "possible side effects . "
Among the hundred people vaccinated Monday, a good story, to begin with.
"The first person vaccinated yesterday was crying because she had no social coverage and she said to herself that she was not entitled to it," said Aurélien Rousseau, the director general of the ARS Ile-de-France.
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- Made-to-measure -
A center open only in the afternoons on weekdays, because the delivery people "start their delivery at 11-11:30 am and do not arrive in advance", at a place "of natural gathering" for them, equipped with several self-service bike stations, explains Marine Darnault, in charge of ephemeral operations at the Paris delegation of the ARS.
The week chosen was not by chance either: in the heart of Euro football, which usually generates a lot of orders, and before the first waves of going on vacation, synonymous with evaporation of the clientele.
If only about thirty people marched in an hour, "vaccinating people who would not have gone to a vaccination center, it's worth double, triple", assumes Aurélien Rousseau, who hopes "that they can say around them that it's simple, easy, (…) the side effects are extremely limited ".
While Ile-de-France passed the milestone of one million weekly injections last week, "trivializing the vaccination act" and "trying everything to burst this ceiling of social inequalities" remains a priority for Mr. Rousseau facing the threat of the Delta variant.
"The coming days will be decisive," he says with the desire to "gain 20 vaccination points" compared to the 56% of those over 12 who have received at least one first injection.
© 2021 AFP