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The High Authority for Health launched a consultation on February 20 on all compulsory vaccinations for caregivers. The Minister of Health will rely on this opinion and that of the National Consultative Ethics Committee, to decide on a possible lifting of the obligation, before the summer.
Obvious to many, an attack on freedom for others, the obligation to vaccinate caregivers has divided part of France and medical personnel throughout the covid epidemic. To settle the question, the High Authority for Health (HAS), launched a public consultation on compulsory vaccines for caregivers, based on on the latest epidemiological data, on the risks of transmission in the workplace and on available vaccines”. Until March 3 (i.e. tomorrow), professionals in the health, medico-social sectors or in contact with young children are invited to answer a questionnaire on the HAS website.
Towards the end of the obligation of the vaccine against covid-19?
All mandatory vaccines, against Covid-19, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis are concerned by the study. “In our opinion which will be issued at the end of March, we could propose to lift the obligation for Covid-19, but for the moment no position has been taken”, explains the High Authority for Health. The obligation to vaccinate against covid 19 was introduced by the government in September 2021, while the pandemic was raging. At the end of this reflection, the vaccination of healthcare personnel against Covid-19 could be strongly recommended, but no longer compulsory.
A decision that will be based on the national ethics advisory committee
To reach a reasoned decision, the Minister of Health François Braun will therefore rely on the scientific expertise of the HAS, but also on the opinion of the national advisory committee on ethics (CCNE) for the life sciences and of health. The Council must also decide on the situation of caregivers who have been suspended for refusing to be vaccinated. The two opinions of the scientific authorities will be given in April. The Minister will make his decision before the summer.
The National Academy of Medicine wishes to maintain the obligation
In this possibility of greater flexibility in the face of the vaccination status of caregivers, the National Academy of Medicine nevertheless issues a negative opinion and considers that vaccination must remain compulsory for caregivers:
“There is no reason to stop compulsory vaccination. All infections converge on the hospital, patients should not be superinfected by other viruses” estimates Professor Yves Buisson, president of the Covid-19 cell of the National Academy of Medicine.
The Academy recommends maintaining the compulsory vaccination of healthcare personnel against Covid-19, and even extending it to seasonal flu.