As variant Delta progresses and the shadow of a fourth wave hangs over the country, the government and the HAS have raised the possibility of making vaccination compulsory. A possibility that would receive the approval of a majority of French people.
- In a letter addressed to parliamentarians this Thursday, Jean Castex hypothesized to extend the vaccination obligation to the entire population.
- The High Health Authority has raised the possibility that this vaccination obligation concerns the entire population aged at least 12 years.
The idea of making vaccination compulsory for the whole population is gaining ground. The hypothesis first concerned caregivers, whose vaccination rate is deemed insufficient by the government. If this does not reach 80% by September, “we will move towards compulsory vaccination”, warned Olivier Véran. But the government could then go even further as the shadow of a fourth wave hangs over due to the Delta variant which has led to the first increase in daily contaminations for ten weeks. This idea of compulsory vaccination, long rejected by the French and even ruled out a few months ago by Emmanuel Macron, seems to be gaining ground: according to an Odoxa poll for France-Info and Le Figaro, 58% of those questioned would be there today. favorable today.
Minimize the impact of a possible epidemic rebound
What are the elements that announce an acceleration in this direction? In a letter addressed to parliamentarians this Thursday, Jean Castex hypothesized to extend the vaccination obligation “wider” only to caregivers. “I hope that the debate on the vaccination obligation can be posed, wrote the Prime Minister. (…) Please also let me know if you think this obligation should be extended more widely. (…) It is our responsibility to prepare the country for the possibility of an epidemic rebound at the start of the school year, and to reflect today on all the means of minimizing its impact. In this regard, it is important for me to collect your analysis on what could be prevention and management measures, (…) to avoid imposing new strong constraints on the French.”
While waiting to find out if he could make this vaccination compulsory, Jean Castex indicated “reflect on incentive mechanisms for vaccination”. Among the avenues considered, he revealed that he wondered about the extension of the “scope of the health pass”. In a desire to tighten the screw to prevent the epidemic from starting again, the Prime Minister also mentioned “the question of strengthening the isolation obligations for people affected by the disease”. On this subject, as for that of vaccination, the option envisaged is that of a “obligation”.
“Sorry to arrive at the vaccination obligation”
The option of compulsory vaccination is shared by the High Authority for Health (HAS). This Friday morning, its president, Dominique Le Guludec conceded “to consider” this possibility to BFM-TV. “Yes we have a threat, but we have a weaponshe insisted. You have to be massively vaccinated.” For her, as for the government, this is justified by the spread of the Delta variant which is “much more contagious”. This would also make it possible to avoid “new health restrictions”. “We remain sorry to arrive at the vaccination obligation, we have always thought that it was better to convince”, she concluded, adding to think about obliging everyone from the age of 12.
Although the vaccine does not prevent new infections, comparing developments in Russia and Britain highlights the importance of the vaccine in preventing the virus from continuing to kill. In both countries, the Delta variant caused a sudden epidemic rebound and many new cases of contamination. The first country, where only 15% of the population has received a dose of the vaccine, is breaking daily death records while the second, where two-thirds of the population have had their first injection and half the two shots, records only eight deaths a day.
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