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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
In its latest opinion made public this Friday, July 22, the High Authority for Health specifies that it wishes to maintain the vaccination obligation in hospitals or in nursing homes. A certain number of non-vaccinated caregivers cannot therefore work.
The HAS says thus “in favor of maintaining the obligation to vaccinate against (the) Covid-19 for personnel working in health and medico-social establishments”.
“Better protection for patients”
A point of view, which the government quickly followed to the letter. “The Academy of Medicine, the Scientific Council and the High Authority for Health have a convergent opinion: “it is negative” and we follow the opinion of scientists”Health Minister François Braun said on Friday.
Caregivers must therefore continue to be vaccinated against Covid-19, otherwise they will no longer be able to go to work.
“In the context of a 7th wave, given the effectiveness of the vaccines and the uncertainties concerning the continuation of the epidemic, the HAS considers that the data are not such as to call into question this vaccination obligation today. It concerns those who have frequent and close contact with vulnerable people and thus contributes to their protection”is it specified in its press release.
The HAS highlights in particular the current large number of contaminations in France (incidence rate which remains at a very high level), “with a marked increase in hospital admissions and deaths“. Vaccines would therefore still have, according to the authority, an interest on a collective level.
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A vaccination obligation that is debating
The opinion of the HAS is indeed not to everyone’s taste. Antoine Flahault, French epidemiologist doctor and director of the Institute of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva, thus pointed to this measure in a tweet.
According to him, “Maintaining the suspension of unvaccinated caregivers is no longer scientifically sound. There is indeed no reason to require the vaccine among caregivers because it does not avoid or sufficiently reduce contamination with the new variants of Sars-CoV-2..
1/3 – Maintaining the suspension of unvaccinated caregivers is no longer scientifically sound. There is in fact no reason to require the vaccine among caregivers because it does not avoid or sufficiently reduce contamination with the new variants of the #SARS-CoV-2
— Antoine FLAHAULT (@FLAHAULT) July 20, 2022
In addition, from an ethical point of view, the professor indicates that there is no reason to justify this refusal of reinstatement. Finally, “Failure to reinstate unvaccinated without a minimum of scientific basis would set a questionable precedent in terms of the management of civil servants. Blaming these health workers for their past irresponsible and illegal behavior, yes. Don’t reinstate them, no!”.
An opinion shared by Dr. Kierzek.
“It seems to me that the opinion of the HAS is a little more political than scientific. Individual protection and the reintegration of caregivers are two very distinct things. Moreover, if it is true that the vaccine protects against serious forms, this is not the case on the transmission side”specifies in turn the medical director of Doctissimo.