The National Assembly adopted at first reading a text to repeal the anti-Covid vaccination obligation for caregivers, rather than simply suspending this obligation. A vote that arouses a certain uneasiness and which the antivax immediately seized.
Science: 0 – Antivax and conspirators: 1. This is somewhat the feeling that emerged on Thursday, when the National Assembly adopted at first reading a text to repeal the anti-Covid vaccination obligation for caregivers, rather than simply suspending this obligation, as provided by the government. It will therefore be necessary to pass a law in the event of a new epidemic.
Jean-Victor Castor (Guyana) MP from the majority communist group – presented as part of the parliamentary day reserved for texts from his group – was adopted by 157 votes to 137, and against the government’s opinion. . Health Minister François Braun deplored a “regrettable message sent by this Assembly to caregivers”, which will “weaken our response capacity” in the event of a new epidemic.
The deputies could not have taken up this inflammable subject, especially since the High Authority for Health (HAS), in an opinion issued on March 30, had opened the door to the reintegration of non-vaccinated caregivers and that the government had announced that it would follow this advice – a decree must reinstate them on May 14. “The HAS considers that every effort must be made to maintain high vaccination coverage among professionals outside of a vaccination obligation”, had written the authority, adding however many other recommendations passed under the media radars, for example, to strengthen surveillance of vaccination coverage of all recommended and compulsory vaccinations for students and professionals.
A vote in the middle of European Vaccination Week
This vote, which took place in the middle of European Vaccination Week (SEV), comes at the worst, not for the government and the presidential majority which found itself in the minority, but for the idea that we have of the science in France, mistreated since the start of the Covid epidemic.
“By preferring suspension to deletion, you are reinforcing health insecurity that these French people cannot afford”, in particular in “the Overseas Territories”, where “we cannot deprive ourselves of any health personnel”, launched the Minister of Health the deputy of Guadeloupe Olivier Serva (Liot group) to justify the vote. According to this reasoning, rather than seeking to alleviate this personnel problem, it is therefore better to leave hospitalized patients in contact with personnel who could contaminate them and therefore kill them… even though these personnel could protect themselves and their patients by being vaccinated? Totally grotesque.
How can we get involved in the medical field and refuse to such an extent the advances of science, preferring to give credit to conspiratorial speeches? Because until proven otherwise, anti-Covid vaccines have shown their effectiveness in preventing serious forms of the disease and reducing contamination.
French people’s adherence to vaccination in the general population thus continues to rise
The most regrettable thing about the vote in the Assembly is that out of pure voting discipline and/or pure political tactics aimed at putting the government in difficulty, we find deputies like Jérôme Guedj (PS), Olivier Marleix (LR), Fabien Roussel (PCF) or Sandrine Rousseau (EELV) who, whether they like it or not, have turned their backs on science by putting it on the same level as conspiratorial and antivax discourse. In other words, the Assembly – where we can only regret that there are not more scientific deputies – has put scientific facts and beliefs on the same level, thus giving a bonus to obscurantism which will further liberate fake news and conspiratorial discourse. A real political mistake…
But let these deputies make no mistake about it, the French are not stupid and are obviously less permeable than them to the noise made on social networks by minority antivax. Adherence to vaccination in the general population is thus continuing to rise: in 2022, 84.6% of people questioned in mainland France said they were in favor of vaccination in general, a figure up from 2021 (82.5%).