Are we going to find pharmacies open to get vaccinated this Sunday in Loire-Atlantique and Vendée? One thing is certain, they will be few. On Thursday, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announced that pharmacists “who wish” will now be able to open every Sunday in December and January to vaccinate against Covid-19. The objective being tospeed up booster injections as much as possible in order to stem the fifth wave.
“We respond in times of crisis but there are limits to everything”, underlines Alain Guilleminot, president of the URPS of pharmacists (the Regional Union of Health Professionals of pharmacists). “We are saturated”, he adds, the teams being solicited for both the anti-Covid vaccine and that of the flu, the requests for tests which are on the rise again and all the usual winter pathologies.
Many pharmacists are physically and morally exhausted – Isabelle Nicolleau, President of the Order of Pharmacists of the Pays de la Loire
“I admit that Sunday, for me it is necessary. We need a day of rest at the moment”, continues Isabelle Nicolleau, president of the Order of Pharmacists of the Pays de la Loire.
Five additional euros per vaccine
To encourage pharmacies to open, each vaccine will be paid an additional five euros on Sunday. But that will not be enough, fears the co-president of the Syndicate of pharmacists of Loire-Atlantique. “The general atmosphere and fatigue will take precedence over the public good unfortunately”, recognizes Denis Millet.
A large pharmacy in downtown Nantes intends to open on Sundays. But to find volunteer employees, she had to find arguments. “Employees are paid double and have equivalent compensatory time off“, explains Marion Chevrier, pharmacist. As soon as the government announced it, the pharmacy added new appointment slots to get vaccinated on Doctolib. “Everything was taken very quickly, in less than two hours”. Enough to do 200 injections on a single Sunday.
“the equivalent of a large vaccination center” on Sunday
According to the forecasts of the URPS of Pharmacists, a third of pharmacies in Pays de la Loire should open on Sundays. But with just a third of pharmacies, the effect on the recall campaign will not be negligible, according to Alain Guilleminot. “We can estimate that nearly 10,000 vaccinations would be recorded in our region alone on Sunday. It is the equivalent of a large vaccination center”. The Loire-Atlantique Pharmacists Union is less optimistic, counting on an opening rate between 15 and 20%.
In a few days, pharmacies open on Sundays will be listed on the santé.fr site.