The Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes held a press conference to explain the progress of the vaccination campaign as well as the next steps.
The Alpes-Maritimes department is one of the hardest hit by COVID-19. To combat this increase in cases, the vaccination campaign started more than a week ago. The current health situation is concerning. Despite some progress, the Prefect insists that “barrier gestures must be maintained as strictly as possible”.
When the vaccine was announced, it was a subject of debate. Public opinion was generally against the idea of getting vaccinated. Things seem to have changed now. “Skepticism is turning into a very significant enthusiasm”, notes Bernard Gonzalez.
A vaccine for everyone
For this vaccination campaign, equity is paramount. Despite the damage caused by storm Alex last October, it is out of the question to neglect people living in the mountains or in affected areas. Today, there are about 135,000 people over the age of 75 in the department. The distribution is “arithmetic”. Doses are allocated based on the rate of people to be vaccinated. Alexandre Romain, departmental delegate of the ARS, states that there are over 55,000 vaccinations per week. With these figures, there is no doubt that the campaign is bearing fruit and fears seem to have been forgotten.
However, hospitals are struggling. Alexandre Romain states “that it is not impossible to transfer some patients to Bouches-du-Rhône to alleviate the workload of the local establishments.”
The Moderna vaccine, an important step
For each vaccine, there is a second dose. For those first vaccinated, it is nearly time to administer this second dose. However, this will not slow down the pace of the campaign. Over the next three weeks, 10,000 to 11,000 doses will be delivered weekly. Therefore, with the 33 vaccination sites in the department, progress is ongoing. Moreover, the Moderna vaccine will make its appearance in February. This will help accelerate the campaign and secure more doses.
