Marisol Touraine wants a debate on the vaccine obligation

“Vaccination has made it possible to reduce, even eradicate, dramatic diseases: diphtheria caused 3,000 deaths per year in France before the vaccine was introduced in 1945, tetanus caused around 1,000 deaths each year. Vaccination also symbolizes belonging to a community. Because to be vaccinated is to protect yourself, but it is also to protect others and in particular the most vulnerable. To be vaccinated is an individual right, but it is also a collective duty! “

It is with these strong words that Marisol Touraine, Minister of Health, presented this Tuesday a new action plan for the renewal of the vaccination policy in France. Following the delivery of report by former MP Sandrine Hurel, she reaffirmed a clear objective: “to act, with individuals, health professionals and industrialists, to restore confidence in the French”. They feel more and more doubts because of the scandals and the lobbying of the anti-vaccine leagues …

Better inform

To remedy this, it proposes 4 axes of intervention. The first aims to ensure better information for the general public and health professionals. Concretely, this will involve the publication of a quarterly newsletter intended for health professionals; and the creation of a “Stakeholders Committee”, under the aegis of the General Directorate of Health (DGS) made up of health professionals, user associations and institutions, in order to better understand the reluctance and anticipate crisis situations.

As a flagship measure of its action plan, the tenant of Avenue Duquesne (Paris 7th) is also proposing “an acceleration” of the implementation of the electronic vaccination record, fully personalized, to improve the monitoring of the vaccination status of patients. . “Health professionals must be able to benefit from accessible and up-to-date information on the vaccination status of their patient. From next March, an experiment will be conducted in this direction in several regions, ”she promised in her speech.

Improve the governance of the vaccine policy

The second axis of this plan aims to ensure better coordination in the steering of the vaccination policy. For this, it will better structure the essential mission of independent expertise. Thus, the positioning of the Technical Committee for Vaccinations (CTV) will be reviewed and henceforth attached to the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS). Finally, “improving management also means promoting research on vaccines and the development of solutions that facilitate and make their production more reliable. This work will be carried out in conjunction with the Ministry in charge of research ”, indicated Marisol Touraine.

the Prof. Emmanuel Grimprel, head of the pediatrics department at the Trousseau hospital (Paris), responds to the Minister of Health and expresses his concern about the growing mistrust of the French towards vaccines.

Third axis of this plan and not the least: securing the supply by fighting in particular against vaccine shortages.
There will now be an obligation for manufacturers producing vaccines included in the vaccination schedule to set up shortage management plans (constitution of stocks reserved for the national territory, establishment of alternative vaccine manufacturing chains and identification of different sources. supply of raw materials).
These obligations will be accompanied by penalties in the event of non-compliance as provided for in a measure voted in the framework of the bill to modernize our health system (Health Act).

Maintenance of the major citizen consultation

Finally, the government has decided to launch a major citizen consultation on the subject of vaccination. It will be organized in three stages throughout 2016, by a steering committee which will be chaired by Prof. Alain Fischer.

Then, from March, a web platform will collect contributions from citizens, professionals, associations and institutions. And from May, a jury of citizens, a jury of health professionals and a jury of scientific experts will analyze these contributions, “by not ruling out any of the substantive questions that the French are asking themselves,” said the minister. . Among the sensitive subjects: “Should we maintain a difference between compulsory vaccines, on the one hand, and recommended vaccines, on the other hand?” What is the perception of the individual benefit / risk? What acceptance of the risk associated with vaccination or non-vaccination? “.

In October, a national public debate will allow discussions on the opinions of juries and the content of citizen contributions. “On the basis of all the contributions collected, the steering committee will formulate conclusions on the evolution of the vaccine policy in December 2016,” concludes the press release from the Ministry of Health.