New step in the vaccination campaign against Covid-19.
From this Thursday, occupational physicians will have the opportunity to vaccinate patients in the workplace with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
How will this vaccination be organized?
Who has access to it?
And should we inform our hierarchical superiors?
Explanations.
Who can get vaccinated?
Vaccination in the workplace is open to employees aged 50 to 64 inclusive, who have comorbidities, had already announced the Secretary of State in charge of pensions and occupational health last Monday.
This concerns, for example, people suffering from cardiovascular pathologies, diabetes, chronic respiratory pathologies, obesity, cancer, immunosuppression or even trisomy 21, develops the General Directorate of Labor (DGT) in its protocol.
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These patients will be administered the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, working with two doses, which can, according to the protocol of the DGT, be spaced 9 to 12 weeks apart.
"This lengthening of the interval may be particularly relevant in a context of active circulation of the virus and allocations of temporarily limited doses of vaccine", justifies the DGT.
How to get vaccinated?
In principle, according to the Directorate General of Labor, vaccination will be offered directly to all employees by the member companies, "including any vulnerable employees placed in a situation of partial activity for isolation due to their state of health who are particularly concerned ”.
It is then up to the employees belonging to the intended target to come forward to their occupational health service to be vaccinated and to request an appointment.
Is this vaccine compulsory?
No.
As for other patients vaccinated in nursing homes or for caregivers, this vaccination campaign is based on voluntary service, recalls the Ministry of Labor in its press release.
Should we inform our superiors of our desire to be vaccinated (or not to be vaccinated)?
No: confidentiality is the rule, as with any other act of vaccination.
The General Directorate of Labor reminds the occupational physicians that "everything must be done to respect the confidentiality of vaccinations vis-à-vis employers".
It is therefore suggested to give priority to vaccinations in the office of the occupational physician, and not on the company's site.
"It is not possible to contact the employees identified as vulnerable to target by means of an individual summons sent under cover of the company manager, this having the effect of reporting to the employer confidential information concerning the employee's health. in question ”, also underlines the DGT.
An employee who must be absent to be vaccinated during his working hours is not obliged to say that he is being vaccinated.
"If they have to justify their absence from their company, employees will inform their employer of the fact that they meet their occupational doctor at their request, without having to specify the reason", explains the DGT.
Are occupational physicians ready?
All are not necessarily this Thursday, because of the short deadlines for the preparation of materials, personnel, and the delivery of vaccines.
“The instruction from the Ministry of Labor arrived on February 16;
on February 25 the vaccinations will not start, no one is ready.
We will know more in two weeks, ”said Jean-Michel Sterdyniak, general secretary of the National Union of Occupational Health Professionals, to Ouest-France.
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This slowness at start-up seems to be expected by the Secretary of State in charge of pensions and occupational health, which, in its press release, assures us that “the scope of intervention of occupational health services will have to be adapted in the weeks to come as the overall vaccination strategy evolves and the vaccines become available ”.