Tunisia: during the political crisis, vaccination remains a priority
In the vaccination center of the Palais des Congrès, in Tunis, vaccinations are linked, like this Thursday, July 29, 2021. © Charlotte Cosset / RFI
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7 mins
Tunisia is still awaiting the appointment of a new Prime Minister while President Kaïs Saïed sacked Hichem Mechichi on Sunday July 25.
On Wednesday, the president made several announcements.
Among them: the creation of a crisis unit coordinated by the army to fight against Covid-19.
Publicity
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With our special
correspondent in Tunis,
Charlotte Cosset
Images of
soldiers vaccinating populations
in the provinces are circulating.
And in Tunis, the large vaccination centers are continuing their mission despite the uncertain political situation.
The vaccination center at the Palais des Congrès is one of the largest vaccination centers in Tunis.
It can accommodate up to 2,000 people per day.
Mahrbouba 60 years old, comes from the popular district of Dendem.
She is seated, lined up in single file ready for her second injection.
“
There are many, many cases.
It is enormous.
In my family, there is my cousin who died from the Covid.
In every family there are deaths.
There are even whole families who have left us
”
.
When we asked her why she did not get vaccinated earlier, she confides: “
Before I was really scared and when the epidemic spread, then I was even more afraid of dying.
"
"
There are thousands of dead
"
Mohamad also came for his second injection.
“
We would like life to resume in Tunisia.
He works in the health sector.
He is disappointed with the management of the health crisis.
“
Between the two governments, there is a big difference.
With the former Prime Minister Elies Fakhfakh and his government, we had gone down to zero cases.
As far as Hichem Mechichi is concerned, it was a disaster.
There are thousands of deaths and thousands of contaminations.
"
► Read also: Covid-19: French aid arrives in Tunisia
A nurse walks between the chairs with her cart.
She chain-vaccinates.
A nursing staff confides the difficulty of the daily work: the difficulty to manage the anxieties of the people, the crisis which lasts and the workforce which is not sufficient.
The latest official reports show nearly 19,000 deaths from Covid-19 in the country.
For Dr. Rafla Tej Dellagi, doctor in charge of the center of the Palais des Congrès, the announcement of the creation of the management committee coordinated by the army and on the situation in its center could be a solution, even if it requires "
a coordinating body
”.
Work overload
“
It's a time of war,”
she continues.
It's not just the Ministry of Health, it's a war there.
So all stakeholders must be present and must contribute.
"
According to her, the success of the vaccination campaign is clearly visible.
“
For two weeks, we have had an attraction rate of the center - if we calculate that in relation to the number of appointments - which is of the order of 80 to 90%.
Where there are problems is when there are vaccines, such as the Chinese vaccine, or AstraZeneca, which has caused problems in France.
It marks.
But above all, there is this situation which is alarming and everyone wants to be vaccinated.
"
► See also: Covid-19 in Tunisia: the Minister of Health sacked at the height of contamination
With regard to the availability of vaccines, apparently there is no problem, but Dr. Rafla Tej Dellagi is concerned about the management of the crowds. “
There is an overload of work, and we cannot manage. 2,000 people, that means there can be boondoggles, conflicts. The team must be available, present, they must respond to these citizens who are stressed about this vaccine, about the disease, about what is also happening outside. I would like to report something here: the day after what happened from a political point of view in Tunisia, we administered 2,000 doses here. This means, apart from the fact that we are in a situation which may not be stable, that the institutions are working.
We continued the vaccination. "
"
In all families, there was illness
"
According to her, the success of this campaign is to be sought in terms of the number of deaths.
“
In all the families, there was illness, there was someone who had serious complications and who died.
They are also worried about the availability of the vaccines that are there.
But if we want to protect Tunisians, we should increase the number of documents that must be provided in Tunisia.
There should be local centers, more governance.
Not at the central level, but at the local level.
"
This Thursday in Tunis, a military plane brought back medical equipment and vaccines from international aid (Malta, Austria and Luxembourg), to support Tunisia in the fight against the pandemic.
► Read also:
Covid-19: difficult vaccination campaign at the height of contamination
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Tunisia
Kaïs Saïed
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