In France, the monkeypox epidemic is gaining ground. Indre-et-Loire is not spared with one to three cases detected each day. If the virus is mild most of the time, it can cause very painful symptoms, even death for the most serious forms. A three-week isolation is mandatory. The best remedy to protect against the virus remains vaccination. The High Authority for Health recommends it for the most exposed people.
For the moment in Indre-et-Loire, it is possible to be administered a dose of vaccine at the vaccination center rue Jehan Fouquet, in the city center of Tours. Between 70 and 80 doses were thus delivered last week. For the moment, the vaccination slots are still few, regrets Yohan Yager, co-president of the LGBTI Touraine association. “There is a week of waiting. This delay can be quite problematic, there may be risks depending on the practices we have.”
Guillaume Gras, doctor specializing in infectious diseases at the University Hospital of Tours, and head of the HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Screening Center (CEGGID), recognizes certain shortcomings. “Many people ask for this vaccination but we currently lack a few arms in our hospital structure to be able to vaccinate more.”
Accelerate vaccination
The doctor promises in the coming days a better management of requests. “We are going to move towards the creation of a second center, at the Bretonneau hospital in Tours, where appointments can be made via Doctolib. We will be able to limit the difficulties encountered in reaching the secretariats. This will increase the number of slots available for those wishing to be vaccinated..”
For its part, the Regional Health Agency ensures that it will not miss doses of vaccines. “We will adapt the airfoil according to the epidemic, like what we did during the Covid-19 pandemic. There will be no shortage of vaccines, there are sufficient stocks at the national level”.