Will the unloved AstraZeneca find its audience?
Reserved primarily for health and medico-social professionals under the age of 65 since it was marketed in early February, this vaccine against Covid-19 produced by the pharmaceutical group with Oxford University is the subject of reviews on its effectiveness.
To the point that caregivers prefer to wait rather than get bitten immediately.
"I was ready and motivated, but I changed my mind given the evolution of the situation", testifies Bernard *, 55, who works in the medico-social in Moselle.
To him and to others, two elements are of general concern: the effectiveness of the vaccine against certain variants of SARS-CoV-2 and the risk of adverse effects.
On the one hand, there is no certainty that AstraZeneca serum is as effective against the strains identified first in South Africa and Brazil.
It is supposed to protect 70% against all clinical forms of Covid-19, but this rate would be lowered to 50%, or even less than 25%, for moderate forms linked to the so-called "South African" variant, according to data put forward by the South African authorities who preferred to suspend distribution.
However, this strain, as well as the so-called “Brazilian” one with which it shares a common mutation, is already circulating a lot in certain French territories.
In Moselle, it would represent "more than 100 new cases per day", according to Olivier Véran.
According to Olivier Véran, the number of cases of variants in Moselle "is now estimated at more than 100 new cases per day" pic.twitter.com/OnzM72RqZ6
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) February 12, 2021
On the other hand, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) reported Thursday February 11 of "149 pharmacovigilance declarations between February 6 and 10 in the morning, mentioning flu-like syndromes often of high intensity (high fever, body aches). or headache) ”, out of around 10,000 vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
Several hospitals, especially in Brittany, have been forced to adapt their vaccination schedule so as not to find themselves short of staff due to work stoppages.
"Many others prefer not to be vaccinated"
“We received 2,000 additional Pfizer doses in Moselle this weekend.
All appointments were made within two hours.
On the other hand, many others prefer not to be vaccinated rather than to receive AstraZeneca, ”says Monique François, departmental secretary of Force Ouvrière Santé in the department.
On Doctolib, many slots open for reservation this week in hospitals in the territory appear to be still available.
The government's “Mister vaccine”, Alain Fischer, himself recommended Sunday in the JDD that young caregivers in Moselle benefit from an mRNA vaccine, Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna.
These are theoretically only intended for people over 75 and caregivers aged at least 50 or with co-morbidities.
“When I heard about this strong push of variants in the department, I revised my judgment, especially since I am in a region, the coal basin, where they circulate the most,” worries Bernard.
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“It is unacceptable to vaccinate caregivers with a product that may be less effective, since the virus is still circulating a lot.
If tomorrow we, caregivers, get sick, there will be fewer doctors and nurses in the wards and sick people will die, ”echoed Benjamin Davido, infectious disease specialist at Raymond Poincaré hospital, in Garches.
His department received 100 AstraZeneca doses last week.
"We could have expected it to jostle at the gate, but we had very few requests for first-time injections," said the doctor, 39 years old.
Contaminated during the first wave, he also prefers to wait for Pfizer or Moderna to be offered to him.
Véran received an AstraZeneca dose
It is difficult to measure this phenomenon.
But testimonials agree that AstraZeneca is not meeting its audience for the moment.
A doctor in Ile-de-France, who received the second dose of Pfizer in Necker on Friday, realized this directly.
“I spoke with the staff, they had planned to also vaccinate with AstraZeneca last week, but they stopped after a day for lack of volunteers,” she says.
Some health workers, fearing they might be feverish on weekends, were also reluctant to come on weekends.
"There are a lot of doubts that we perceive when we discuss with people, but it is difficult to quantify", continues a doctor based in Strasbourg.
Monique François judges that these twists and turns are all the more damaging that "there was a demand to be vaccinated much stronger than expected".
"The authorities expected around 30% of caregivers, but we have already exceeded 30% among those over 50," she says.
"We would like the ministry to request a meeting with representative bodies to reassure or, if not, to propose an alternative," urges Emanuel Loeb, the president of the "Young Doctors" union.
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Olivier Véran, neurologist by profession, was himself stung with AstraZeneca on Monday February 8. This vaccine protects against "at least 99% of the strains that circulate" in France, he then wanted to reassure. Dr Nathan Phlek, occupational physician in Ile-de-France, has also heard of all these concerns. But he prefers to see the problem the other way around: “Pfizer is currently only used for second doses. Today we have AstraZeneca which at least provides some protection after the first dose, so I think we shouldn't wait. "
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