A long queue stretches out in front of the Bois-Plage-en-Ré multipurpose room, transformed into a mobile vaccination center.
It is 4 pm this Monday under the sun of the island of Ré and Brigitte, 63, has been in line for an hour.
Resident year-round in the neighboring town of Rivedoux, this artist-painter is patient to receive her first dose of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
“They put the knife to our throats so I took the plunge.
In the other centers, there are no appointments before August, ”she sighs.
Behind her, Julien, 22 years old.
A Breton on vacation with his aunt retaise, who works in the medico-social.
"It's good that I can receive my first dose here because I could not do it earlier," says the young man.
A little further in the line, Hughes, a 20-year-old student from Bordeaux.
For him, this will be the second injection in this ephemeral center on the island of Ré.
“I should have finished my vaccination before the summer but I was in contact by the time I was due to receive the second dose.
So I confined myself for seven days and had to postpone my appointment, ”explains this seasonal, windsurfing instructor for the summer.
"A complementary tool"
This village of the island of Ré inaugurated Monday, August 2 the mobile vaccination system of Charente-Maritime, deployed by the department, the state services and the SDIS (Departmental fire and rescue service) in 22 municipalities . 30 vaccination days are scheduled throughout August. “The goal is to deliver at least 200 doses per day. Holidays should not be an excuse not to get vaccinated, ”said Sylvie Marcilly, president of the Charente-Maritime department. Concretely, 10 people are mobilized every day on this system: 4 firefighters, 3 nurses and 1 firefighter doctor, 1 site coordinator and 1 member of an approved civil security association. Cost of the operation: € 80,000.
In Bois-Plage-en-Ré, three barnums, barriers and chairs have been installed in the multipurpose room.
Depending on the organization and infrastructure of each municipality, the device can be installed outside.
Vaccination is free and without an appointment, on presentation of the Vitale card and an identity document.
“It is a complementary tool for living more serenely, which is added to the 16 vaccination centers in the department.
The protocol is also identical there ”, affirms Pierre Molager, secretary general of the prefecture of Charente-Maritime.
Read also Covid outbreak: return of the mandatory mask outdoors in 45 municipalities of Charente-Maritime
The local epidemic situation is considered very worrying. “From July 24 to 30, the incidence rate was 320 per 100,000 inhabitants. The circulation of the virus is intense, it was less than 10 at the end of June. Currently 64 people are hospitalized, including ten in intensive care, ”explains François Marché, medical adviser of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in Charente-Maritime, who also indicates a complete vaccination rate of 57% in the department.
At the mobile vaccination center, the gauge is limited and some will have to go to be vaccinated elsewhere. A flyer with the dates and times of the next stages of this unit will be distributed to them. The last day is scheduled for August 31 in Mortagne-sur-Gironde. "If there is a need to extend this device, we will do it," promises Stéphane Villain, president of SDIS 17.
