Toulouse: the vice-president of the Order of pharmacists of Occitanie deplores “the lack of anticipation” for the third dose
Is it still the street in pharmacies for the 3rd dose?
It’s less the street because people have made an appointment. On the other hand, it is always the street on dates. But we’re all done until January 15th. My colleagues and I hesitate to make appointments beyond that because we do not know the doses of vaccines available. The problem we have encountered from the start is accessibility to the vaccine.
Who vaccines in your home?
These are pharmacists and preparers, they are authorized to vaccinate after having received training. It is therefore time taken on the relationship with our customers but it is also part of our work even if it is time consuming. The latest announcements by Olivier VĂ©ran have rushed patients to pharmacies to make an appointment, when they still had time to receive the third dose, since vaccine protection begins to decline from 6 months.
Who comes to be vaccinated at your place?
At first, they were our usual patients, today everyone is trying to find doses everywhere. For the moment, we are using Pfeizer, but we have announced that the dilations should arrive in Moderna. Across France, there are 2 million people per week in pharmacies.
How are pharmacists coping with this rush for the 3rd dose?
Quite difficult because it has been almost two years since we are on the bridge. Our biggest complaint is the lack of anticipation. We are informed by my media or ministerial interventions, without anything being prepared beforehand. Right now, we have to deal with the antigen tests, the flu vaccination, the anti-covid vaccination and we are getting there. But to accelerate the movement overnight with the pressure of the health pass, forcing us to refuse patients every day.
Will opening the vaccinodrome relieve you?
It should. But if that reduces our number of vaccines to give them to the vaccinodrome, that will not solve the problem. Some people who have made appointments at pharmacies go for vaccindrome without warning, and doses will go to waste.