You may have known the "
Magicobus
" of the Harry Potter universe, the animated series of the 1990s dedicated to the "
magic bus
", the "
party buses
" that we occasionally see circulating in the streets of Paris;
but did you know the "
Vaccibus
"?
Behind its nickname which can make you smile, this device is part of the battery of tools to "go towards" deployed by local communities to push vaccination closer to the territories.
To read also: Should we lift the constraints for the vaccinated?
In Villejuif, in the Parisian suburbs, this Wednesday in July, one of these buses is parked in front of the Auguste Delaune market. This vehicle changes location during the week, taking the mobile vaccination center to different parts of the city. Its characteristic green color of the RATP is fleshed out with pink displays extolling the merits of the vaccination.
In front, several dozen people wait in single file.
The bus welcomes by appointment or without prior reservation.
Elderly people, young people, families ... There are many volunteers and the flow is constant.
Those arriving without a dedicated time slot must pre-register and discuss their medical condition in a white tent, then stand in line.
For others, the process is faster.
After the injection, carried out in the vehicle, a small tent - “
the rest area
” - accommodates people for about twenty minutes before letting them go.
Around half past twelve, the team can finally take a break.
Le Figaro
The interior of the bus was fitted out by the teams from the town hall workshop: a few curtains frame the seats where the injections are done, air conditioning has been installed inside and a shelf on which the medical equipment stands. tinkered with.
Not enough to upset the appearance of the vehicle, but quick, inexpensive and effective modifications.
The interior of the bus has been redesigned to accommodate individuals.
Le Figaro
Previously, the 60,000 Villejuifois depended mainly on the Arcueil vaccination center. “
Since February, we wanted to set up our own center,
” says Nacer Kacimi. Health and vaccination officer at the town hall, the latter oversees the organization and runs from one emergency to another, around the vaccibus. The discussion is frequently interrupted by one of his colleagues or by a future vaccine recipient who is anxious to have details.
At first, the ARS Île-de-France is skeptical, believing that the installation of a vaccibus will not attract crowds.
It gives the green light at the end of May, for an implementation on June 9.
It provides the doses and the equipment, the RATP lends the vehicle - "
a substitute bus
", useless at the moment for the management, specifies the project manager - and everything starts off timidly.
The waiting area, the bus and the post-injection rest area.
Le Figaro
At first, only a few dozen people came to be vaccinated each day. The record then capped at 120 injections. “
There was a lot of skepticism about vaccines,
” recalls the city employee. The lack of information, the disinterest of young people or laziness also play a role. Since then, Emmanuel Macron's announcements, in mid-July, have been there: the presidential address kicked off the anthill, in particular for vacationers worried about validating their health pass to take their train. "
There, we are at 305, 310, over the last three days, including a huge part without an appointment
», Rejoices Nacer.
In three hours, this Wednesday morning, 130 people will have received a dose, and the vaccibus should soon exceed the mark of 3,000 injections since its installation in June.
A “
speed
”
rhythm
, relentlessly
The pace has therefore accelerated considerably, putting staff under pressure. The vaccibus has several advantages, observes our interlocutor, including its proximity and the possibility of coming without an appointment. Getting vaccinated there is quick and easy, and word of mouth did the rest. "
We managed to reverse the process, these people would not have been vaccinated if the vaccine had not come to them,
" notes Nacer. The whole thing keeps an air of resourcefulness, of local solidarity: the parasol under which Nacer registers the individuals has been loaned by the local café, and part of the staff participating in the organization of the place is mobilized at the last moment, holidays of been obliged. The doctors and injectors mainly come from the surrounding vaccination centers: “
we're smaller, and we're outside, so it's nicer for them to come here,
”notes the Villejuifois.
The doctor present as well as the three people willing to injections - including a resident and a retired nurse - are also available to discuss with skeptical or worried people and reassure them, if possible. At 71 years old, Martine has spent her morning multiplying the bites and she is getting ready to resume the afternoon. She explains having offered her help to several centers, without success, then having registered to participate in the vaccibus. She gets involved out of passion: "
I am a nurse at heart
", she smiles, adding that she loves having "
always someone to take care of
". "
I can come this afternoon, because at three, it's not luxury,
" she says to Nacer before going on a break.
The Ministry of Health relies on this type of local organization to bring vaccination to the most isolated populations. Le Figaro
Similar devices to “go to” exist throughout the region, indicates the ARS Ile-de-France in
Le Figaro
. Often ephemeral, of various sizes and mounted quickly, they are difficult to count, from mobile teams at the foot of the towers in Bagnolet, the specific operations in the heart of Paris or station F. They are "
always mounted in connection with the local communities, prefectures and associations in the field
”, we add. The Ministry of Health also relies on this type of local organization to bring vaccination to the most isolated populations. It is a logistics of the last mile, in addition to the vaccination centers and the action of pharmacies and town medicine.
Thirty minutes before the vaccibus closes at lunchtime, the teams cut the queue and ask those arriving to come back in the afternoon. No rest for the brave: between the latecomers having an appointment and the exceptions, like this man who wants to be vaccinated urgently to return to see his dying father, the pace remains busy. "
Did you see how speed is?"
Nacer blurted out to a passing friend.
Under the July sun, the injections follow one another, the queue progresses slowly until noon. Then everything will resume at the beginning of the afternoon. The device, which was to stop at the end of August, should be extended until All Saints' Day, according to the municipal agent. A long job awaits the injectors, especially since skepticism is resisting: Nacer cites the example of twin sisters, who came to sharply criticize the vaccination, not long ago. Dialogue was impossible.