Is Val-d'Oise the least well-endowed department in France with vaccines?
This is one of the conclusions of an investigation by the 20-hour newspaper of TF1, which looked at the ratio between the number of vaccines available and the number of inhabitants eligible for vaccination, namely people from over 75 and healthcare professionals over 50, or with co-morbidities.
The 95 brings up the rear of the ranking of the departments, with only 34 vaccines for 100 eligible people, behind Hauts-de-Seine (36) or Val-de-Marne (39).
Far behind the territory of Belfort, Paris or the Jura, which come first with 155, 115 and 106 vaccines respectively available per 100 eligible inhabitants.
"Our department is still the worst off"
These figures made several local elected officials jump.
And in particular Florence Portelli.
“Our department of Val-d'Oise is still the worst off: last in the distribution of doses of vaccine, reacted on Twitter the mayor (Free!) Of Taverny.
The unbearable downgrading of 95 by the state must stop!
"" It's amazing, plague the vice-president of the Ile-de-France region, contacted this Monday morning.
The Val-d'Oise is always the great forgotten of public policies.
For my part, I am not to be pitied at Taverny.
For the moment, we are doing well.
Since we were present from the start, we are among the priorities.
But it is really absurd.
"
The vice-president of the region, who was one of the first to open a Covid screening center in Taverny, now transformed into a vaccination center (and which has so far injected 4,179 doses), can testify to the difficulties encountered during the launch of the vaccination center in his municipality.
During the week, he must also open new meetings.
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"How to justify such a difference?
Asked for his part Xavier Melki, the mayor (LR) of Franconville.
What criteria?
Why ?
The downgrading of the 95 is enough.
"
This Monday, it was impossible to make an appointment in certain centers of the department.
The shortage even resulted in the delay in opening the Ermont center, initially scheduled for January 25, but which should finally take place on Wednesday.
The highest incidence rate in Ile-de-France
These figures are all the more appealing as the Val-d'Oise, long singled out for bad indicators since the start of the health crisis, is today the department of Ile-de-France where the rate of incidence is the worst, namely 252 people tested positive over the last 7 days out of 100,000 inhabitants, against an average of 236 in the Paris region.
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"We have in the east of the department some highly precarious municipalities, which paid a very dear price for Covid-19 during the first wave," recalls Doctor Edouard Devaud, coordinator of the health crisis at the Pontoise hospital.
It is also due to the fact that there is a lot of diabetes, overweight, high blood pressure.
In this area, there have always been high incidence rates.
"
"No hospital overflow at all"
The specialist foresees "a small acceleration in the incidence rate in the days to come" due to the presence of the variants, and in particular the English variant, which is more contagious.
"It is very likely that we will have more positivity, but that does not necessarily mean more impact on hospitalizations," he says.
There may be more contaminations in young populations, and in particular children.
"
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"There are 2,900 new cases of Covid every week in Val-d'Oise, that's a huge figure"
The Val-d'Oisien hospital system has not been strangled to this day.
“For the moment, there is no hospital overflow at all, reassures the doctor.
In the Covid-19 units, we do not have an increase in the bed occupancy rate linked to the disease.
"
A letter to denounce "the lack of vaccines"
Still, Val-d'Oise continues to be a department where the disease is actively circulating.
Hence the impatience and above all the frustration of the population who cannot get themselves vaccinated.
This is particularly the case in areas where the average age is a little higher.
Worried about their populations, the presidents of four communities of rather rural communes (Sausseron Impressionists, Vallée de l'Oise and Trois Forests, Haut-Val-d'Oise and Carnelle Pays-de-France) have just sent a letter to the regional health agency (ARS) to take the lead regarding the continuation of vaccinations.
"We put the cart before the horse, there was a big announcement effect suggesting that a real vaccination campaign had started when this is not the case", plague Sébastien Poniatowski, president (LR) of the Oise Valley and the Three Forests and mayor of L'Isle-Adam.
Because in fact, very few inhabitants of the area over the age of 75 have so far been able to make an appointment in order to receive an injection.
“For the L'Isle-Adam center, in 24 hours, the schedule was complete.
We are told of a new delivery in the next few days, but the same will happen.
We have an elderly population waiting, it is imperative that there is fairness in the distribution of doses.
"
"Increase production rates and open new centers"
In their letter to the ARS, the presidents of the intercommunalities regret “the lack of vaccine doses for many eligible inhabitants of our territory”.
And above all, they are proposing new initiatives.
It is time, they believe, to think about "increasing the pace within vaccination centers already open", but it is also necessary "to open new centers" by transforming for example the screening centers.
Finally, the elected officials propose to create "mobile teams capable of circulating on the territory, in particular with people who move with difficulty".
When contacted, the ARS did not respond to our requests.
