The "
challenge of the lack of staff in hospital services
" is one of the priorities of the new government, said Elisabeth Borne on Friday.
The ministers in charge were summoned to make proposals “
very quickly
”, “
to take effective measures by the summer
”, specified the Prime Minister.
Among the solutions, will the reintegration of nursing staff who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 be put on the table?
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The question has resurfaced since the presidential campaign, during which Marine Le Pen made it one of the key elements of her program.
In the period between the two rounds, Emmanuel Macron had then given pledges on this subject, assuring that his government would go “
in this direction
” as soon as the health situation was “
no longer in an acute phase
”.
On May 12, the former Minister of Health Olivier Véran thus claimed to have seized the High Authority for Health to inquire about the legitimacy of such a decision.
Italy had launched the compulsory vaccination movement for caregivers in the spring of 2021, before France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany followed suit.
But the vaccination obligation for caregivers had taken different forms depending on the state, which Antoine Flahault explained by a cultural difference.
"
This question refers to the notion of compulsory vaccination in general, and countries have different cultures on this subject
", explained the director of the Institute of Global Health in Geneva.
While the question now arises of reintegrating the approximately 15,000 French personnel suspended since September 15, what are our neighbors doing?
Italy
Just a year after adopting compulsory vaccination for a number of professions, Italy redefined the rules with a new decree in early March.
The vaccine remains mandatory for teachers, soldiers and firefighters until June 15.
From this date, there will be no more suspension of work or salary, promises the government.
For health professionals, on the other hand, the obligation remains in force until December 31, 2022. In the event of non-vaccination, doctors and nurses, as well as hospital employees, are still threatened with suspension.
UK
The United Kingdom has always remained cautious about the idea of sanctioning unvaccinated health personnel, and for good reason: 8% of National Health Service personnel have still not received any dose against Covid-19.
The sanctions, supposed to come into force from April 1, have met with fierce resistance in the medical community, already worried about a shortage of staff in hospitals.
Several deputies had also criticized this decision.
Read also Trial, retraining, illegal exercise ... Six months later, the undiminished anger of non-vaccinated caregivers
On March 15, 2022, the "
vaccination as a condition of deployment
", that is to say the obligation of the anti-covid vaccine to be affected in certain types of health services, was finally revoked by decision of the government.
Belgium
On the Belgian side, the time is not so much for the lifting of the obligation as for its very establishment, which has experienced many twists and turns.
The obligation for caregivers had been approved for the first time at the end of 2021, leading to major demonstrations.
The federal government had agreed to a three-month deadline from January 1.
Those who persisted in their refusal on this date risked dismissal or a six-month layoff.
The deadline was finally extended to July 1.
In the meantime, the vaccination task force, in view of the encouraging figures of the pandemic, declared at the beginning of May that it no longer saw any use for it.
Since then, the project has been on hold and no effective date has been decided.
Germany
Until March 15, 2022, employees of hospitals and retirement homes across the Rhine had to present a vaccination or recovery certificate to practice.
From now on, it is up to each Land to define the rules for the non-vaccinated, from the sanction to the suspension.
But the rule has always been flexible among our German neighbors, and suspensions, rare.
Indeed, in the absence of proof of vaccination, the employer simply had to inform the health authorities and examine each case individually to find a way out.
Spain
In Spain, where vaccination has gone well, the government has not seen fit to impose the vaccine on caregivers, despite pressure from certain regions in this direction.
“
We did not have to adopt this measure, because practically all citizens are vaccinated voluntarily
”, welcomed the Minister of Education Pilar Alegría in the summer of 2021.
The confidence of Spaniards in their health system, family solidarity, has made the country the leader in vaccination against Covid-19 in Europe.
Read alsoVaccine: “Can personal convictions prevail over civic obligations?”
“
Information on the number of people suspended or still unvaccinated is difficult to establish, in France as elsewhere
”, underlines Françoise Geng, member of the national management of the Health social action federation.
“
Ultimately, it would seem that only France had a strong reluctance with regard to the vaccination obligation
”, underlines the union official, who qualifies however: apart from the overseas territories, the number of caregivers suspended remains "
measured
" with regard to the overall workforce, and will not be the miracle solution to the lack of medical personnel.
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