The constitutionnal Council decided this Tuesday, November 9: it censors access the vaccination status of students, which was provided for in the health vigilance bill. Article 9 of the law allowed directors of educational establishments to access medical information relating to pupils and to proceed with their treatment. The constitutionnal Council “considers that these provisions disproportionately infringe the right to respect for private life and declares them contrary to the Constitution”.
On the night of October 20 to October 21, 2021, the deputies gave the green light to this amendment. But he had been controversial: this one stipulates that “until the end of the 2021-2022 school year, the directors of primary and secondary schools and the persons they specially empower for this purpose may have access to information relating to the virological status of students , the existence of contacts with infected people as well as their vaccination status“.
In short: if this amendment were put in place, school principals, principals and principals could know if students are vaccinated against Covid-19, know the result of their PCR test, or even know if they have been in contact with someone infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This controversial amendment was to be validated by the Senate anyway, around October 28.
Since this summer, the vaccination against Covid-19 is accessible to children from the age of 12 years, that is to say from the 5th grade. At the end of September 2021, 69% of young people aged 12 to 17 had received at least one dose of vaccine against infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and 58% were fully vaccinated (2 doses).
The issue of medical confidentiality at school
If, for the government, this amendment would make it possible to “facilitate the organization of screening and vaccination campaigns and organize teaching conditions to prevent the risk of spreading the virus“, for the Federation of parents’ councils (FCPE), this would be a stigmatizing measure:”there is no question of medical secrecy being lifted. One of two things: either the government finally decides to pass a law that makes the vaccine compulsory – and the FCPE is neither for nor against -, or it remains in its current position, and then there is no there is no reason to stigmatize parents who choose not to vaccinate their children“.
Because the whole issue of this amendment is indeed respect for medical confidentiality in schools. At present, only 11 vaccines are compulsory in France: against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, haemophilius influenzae B (bacteria causing in particular pneumopathies and meningitis), whooping cough, hepatitis B, measles , mumps, rubella, meningococcus C: school heads can therefore check these vaccinations, but are theoretically not supposed to know the entire health record of the students.
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