To cope, in the event of power cuts, few solutions are available to Jocelyne Wittevrongel, pharmacist in Saint-Gaultier, in Indre. “We will surely have to throw away some of the stock,” she opines. And for good reason: a certain number of medicines must be kept cool and respect the cold chain. This is the case of vaccines, against Covid-19 but also against the flu, or even insulin, hormones and certain particularly expensive treatments, for certain cancers in particular. Others are also worried about a break in the supply of drugs, the chain being already very tense, if production is forced to stop due to cuts.
Because so far, neither the 20,000 pharmacies in France, nor the 271 drug industries, are considered priority users, and therefore are not exempt from load shedding. In detail, nearly 14,000 priority sites are entitled to it, and are listed by the prefectures so as not to be cut, including hospitals and clinics, fire stations, police stations and police stations, or even airports and certain industrial sites. sensitive. “We have no particular information on our priority status or not”, indicates Philippe Besset, president of the federation of pharmaceutical unions of France (FSPF), questioned by The Express. “The Prime Minister’s office tells us that in principle, yes, pharmacies are among the priority audiences, but technically it seems complicated to implement”. Network operators would not really have the means to locate and connect one or more pharmacies in a offloaded area.
The fear of a break in the cold chain
An administrative and technical vagueness that worries and questions many pharmacists. In Saint-Gaultier, in the refrigerators of her pharmacy, Jocelyne Wittevrongel has nearly 7,000 euros worth of medicines. “If there were to be a cut tomorrow, I would be forced to get rid of part of it, because not all products are resistant to temperature rises,” she explains to The Express.
Each product kept in pharmacy fridges is subject to storage conditions. In the event of a breakdown in the refrigeration system, manufacturers usually indicate what to do. “Normally, our refrigerators should not exceed 8 ° C, but if necessary we can do what are called ‘excursions'”, points out Philippe Besset, president of the federation of pharmaceutical unions in France (FSPF). “So we have instructions, product by product, which detail the number of hours of overrun”. Some products must be destroyed immediately while others can be kept for a few hours. “On the other hand, no manufacturer can tell us, if we have three cuts in the week, if our products are still viable, because we do not have the experience of iterative cuts”, adds Pierre-Olivier Variot, president of the Union of Community Pharmacists’ Unions (USPO), joined by The Express.
Some have thought of installing generators or inverters in order to keep the fridges at a certain temperature during the cut. However, “these solutions are not very appropriate”, according to Pierre-Olivier Variot. “Firstly because it is expensive, but also because these mechanisms require installations that we do not have time to put in place”. The only viable solution therefore for pharmacists: order less stock to avoid too many losses. “That’s what we all plan to do,” says Jocelyne Wittevrongel. “But there is still a risk, with the current drug shortages, that we end up not being able to fill patients’ prescriptions.” And to add: “we have the feeling of being caught between a rock and a hard place. We are disappointed”.
Risk of strain on the supply of drugs
Upstream of pharmacies, on the industrial side, the time is also for concern. In the event of power cuts, “the situation could be critical”, warns the union of pharmaceutical companies (Leem). “Among the 271 pharmaceutical production sites located in France, 75% are not equipped with a generator that can take over in the event of a breakdown”, indicates to The Express Pascal Le Guyader, Deputy Director General of Leem. In the event of a production stoppage, even for a few hours, manufacturers risk falling behind in the manufacture of drugs, and adding even more tension to the already very tight supply chain. “We have already asked the government to classify these industrial sites under priority status, assures Pascal Le Guyader. But the decision is decentralized. It is the prefects who decide, and for the moment if some have accepted, others have rejected our requests for classification as priority users of certain sites”.
In addition, some manufacturers could have difficulty completing their products in the process of being manufactured if a power cut were to interrupt the process. “A power cut of 2 hours can trigger three days of stoppages, and up to fifteen days or three weeks”, explains the deputy director general of Leem. “It is not enough to turn on the light again. For certain drugs, vaccines or even sterile molecules, if the chain stops, you have to throw everything away and start all over again”. Starting over means cleaning everything and repeating temperature, sterility and safety checks, which can take days.
In this climate of tension, the executive wanted to reassure users, individuals and professionals, in the face of potential cuts this winter. “Stop all that! We are a great country, we have a great energy model, we will hold out this winter despite the war. And I ask everyone to do their job,” said the French president arriving at a European summit. in Tirana, Albania. “The scenarios of fear, not for me! We all remain united and we move forward”, he added, judging “stupid” the “debate” of “these last hours”. For its part, the network manager, RTE, confirmed this morning a downward trend in electricity consumption in France which is “growing”, with a drop of 8.3% last week compared to the average of previous years (2014-2019).
“Reassuring” remarks according to the president of the federation of pharmaceutical unions of France (FSPF) Philippe Besset. “We really hope that we will not have any cuts,” he slips. Especially since pharmacists have already been warned by their insurers: the losses incurred by power cuts cannot be covered. “We all receive letters one by one from our insurance companies”, testifies Jocelyne Wittevrongel. On the Pharmaction Facebook group, several have shared them. “That means if you have to throw away stock, it will be a deadweight loss.”