For many relatives of nursing home residents, the Covid-19 vaccine is a matter of survival.
Not just in the face of the virus, but also in isolation.
With the arrival of the vaccination campaign in nursing homes, some hope to be able to accelerate the relief of the measures introduced at the start of the crisis.
For others, it is still too early to give their consent to this vaccination campaign.
Affected by Alzheimer's disease for eleven years, Isabelle's mother has been in nursing home for eight years in Moselle.
"She no longer speaks, she no longer eats alone", testifies her daughter, tested by months of worry and anger.
“Since March 16, I have only seen my mother behind a plastic window.
For her birthday, on November 12, I was able to enter the nursing home but I stayed behind a plexiglass, I could not shake her hand, it's extremely difficult, ”she confides.
"I don't want her to serve as a guinea pig"
Despite this situation, his fears about the vaccine prevail.
“She's 88 years old, I don't want her to be a guinea pig.
At a pinch if she spoke, but for three years she has not spoken at all, I no longer have communication with her.
I can't tell if she has a problem or pain.
And then there is not enough staff to monitor if something goes wrong, ”says Isabelle, whose daughter was in favor of a vaccination for her grandmother.
“I don't have enough feedback on this vaccine, we will wait a bit.
I'm not saying that I will never have her vaccinated, ”she emphasizes, however.
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The only argument that could weigh in the balance, the certainty of seeing his mother again under less strict conditions.
“But nothing will change,” she thinks she knows.
This request is however part of the recommendations issued by the Circle of Caregivers in Ehpad, a think tank bringing together relatives of residents.
“We asked that the decision on vaccination be informed and respected, whether it be yes or no, and that we give all the elements to families and guardians.
We also asked for a commitment from the ministry, so that once the vaccination campaign has been carried out in an nursing home, we can regain the freedom to receive the family, ”recalls Sabrina Déliry, daughter of a resident of a retirement home in Paris and member of the collective.
A hope that sustains many loved ones, like Nadine.
This former executive assistant took care of her mother for several years, before being placed in a retirement home, three years ago in La Seyne-sur-Mer (Var).
“I continue to be very close, and I am the guardian of the person, I decide for them because they are no longer able to make decisions.
“For months, she and her mother have lived to the rhythm of the restrictive measures introduced in the establishment.
With the fear of slipping, a syndrome feared by many caregivers who see the state of health of their loved ones deteriorate.
The fear of a "slip"
So when the question of vaccination came up, Nadine's blood only went round.
"The first thing that came to my mind was
if she's vaccinated, could I find my little mom?"
Considering his age, the game is worth the effort.
"
The decision was so not so obvious to make.
His brother was moreover of the opposite opinion.
“Him, he is more hesitant, he finds that there is not enough distance.
Obviously, it is difficult to accept an unknown vaccine, we do not know everything about the dangers.
But at the same time, she is 85 years old, she wants to end her life surrounded.
She claims us and she is in great distress.
It is not the vaccine that will kill her, it is her distress, ”slips Nadine, for whom the reduction in measures in the event of vaccination could speed things up.
"If we say that the vaccine is the passport to find a normal life, we will be more likely to want to do it for our loved ones," she says.
Catherine has only been able to see her mother twice since October.
“She had to sign a contract on December 25 to be able to go out which stipulated that she was then to remain isolated for eleven days.
Except that the recommendations of the government, it is seven days, deplores this mother of a family, who seized the Defender of Rights a few months ago.
"This is the only way out of this vaccine"
Since a stroke ten years ago, Jeannine, his mother, has been a resident of an Ehpad in Isère.
“She was a woman with a zest for life, she loved going out, she did a lot of walking,” says Catherine.
Paralyzed at 80%, her mother has kept her head and knows what she wants: to be vaccinated.
“Mom is not afraid, I believe that there is a vaccine and that the laboratories are not there to kill people.
We hear anything and everything about them, that they want to put their pockets in their pockets.
But I don't care.
This is the only way out of this vaccine.
"
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Carole's mother, in an establishment in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, soon 84 spring, will decide for her part alone to be vaccinated or not.
“Because it is not under supervision.
But she asked me my opinion ”, specifies this fiftieth birthday.
The two women are of the same opinion and want the vaccination, to protect themselves but also to give themselves more chances to live a few years of freedom.
"These are the conditions that make my mother accept this vaccination", underlines Carole.
But for now, there is no indication that the vaccination will mean the lifting of isolation measures.
On the contrary.
In the vaccination protocol published by the government, the "necessary maintenance of preventive measures" is written in black and white.
"Vaccination does not exempt from compliance with barrier measures, especially since, if the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine protects against serious forms, there is not yet any data providing proof that the vaccine does not contaminate others. people.
The ESMS crisis management protocols (Editor's note: social or medico-social establishment or service) remain in force, ”we can also read.