In his diary, Doctor Jacques Battistoni has already checked the date of Friday, February 26.
He warned ten of his patients aged 50 to 64 and with risk factors for contracting a severe form of Covid-19: they have an appointment that day at his office to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Like 22,000 of his colleagues who have volunteered to participate in this operation, this general practitioner, who works in the suburbs of Caen (Calvados), impatiently awaits to receive his first vial of ten doses promised by the laboratory.
"We have to prioritize"
In accordance with the recommendations of the High Authority for Health, it has in fact been decided that this anti-Covid vaccine, made by the pharmaceutical company based in London, would be administered next week in priority to 50-64 year olds.
550,000 doses have already been received, it was said on Wednesday, at the Ministry of Health.
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Obesity, hypertension, diabetes, chronic bronchitis… Dr. Battistoni consulted his files to target the patients he considers the highest priority in this age group.
“My patients ask me when it will be their turn to get vaccinated, but since we don't have enough vaccines, we have to prioritize,” sighs the general practitioner.
“The volumes of the first deliveries intended for town doctors are low compared to the number of [general practitioners] potentially involved in the vaccination campaign, admits in a note the Director General of Health (DGS) Jérôme Salomon.
As a result, each doctor will have only one vial at the time of the first delivery ”, that is to say next week.
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But the DGS is counting on "two or three bottles maximum for the second delivery", scheduled for the following week, depending on consumption and the number of doses delivered.
“The volumes available will increase very gradually from March,” explains Jérôme Salomon.
Jacques Battistoni sees it as “a first step towards a diversification” of the serums available in France.
“We will now have an additional vaccine offer in addition to those we already had and the possibility for us to vaccinate in our practices.
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Doctors involved in this operation are called upon to schedule ten half-day appointments a week in advance to inject their patients.
Once the dose is opened, they then have six hours at room temperature, up to 30 ° C, to vaccinate a maximum of ten patients.