Greater Region: Opening of a flu vaccination center in Nancy

Shortage of vaccines in pharmacies, hospitals “under pressure” or in blank mode: faced with an “intense” circulation of the flu and with the approach of the peak, expected “in around ten days”, Nancy opened a vaccination center. temporary vaccination.

“Congratulations, you are a candidate for vaccination!”, smiles Nathalie Viard, nurse and coordinator of the center, after questioning a patient who came to perform her injection. The flu vaccine is only administered to the priority public: those over 65 or people with risk factors. This is the case of Dominique Isler, 62 years old but identified at risk, who takes advantage of the opening of the center to be vaccinated in an “easy and quick” way, while pharmacies in the area no longer have doses.

It was a liberal nurse, Thierry Pechey, who set up the center in a few days, with the support of communities and institutions, based on the model of those already set up during the Covid-19 pandemic, recalls Nathalie Viard. The two white sheds, in which the injections are carried out with the required privacy, are also inherited from the Covid period.

The Ministry of Health indicated on Tuesday that the circulation of the flu was “intense” and that its impact on hospitals should lead to “great vigilance”, to “protect the most vulnerable” while calling for vaccination.

But in the Nancy region, “the pharmacies no longer have vaccines”, underlines Nathalie Viard. Several patients said they had been redirected to the center by their pharmacist. Here, 900 doses provided by the Regional and University Hospital Center (CHRU) of Nancy await the volunteers. “It is not too late to get vaccinated,” insists Nathalie Viard. And for good reason, “the epidemic peak, which we expect in ten days, has not arrived”. The vaccine takes “eight days to protect the body, so we are still on schedule”.

According to Nathalie Viard, “there is an urgent need to be vaccinated”. The Nancy CHRU is classified as a “hospital in tension”, while other hospital centers have activated the white plan, particularly in Lorraine. The flu is also “a little more serious this year, with more significant symptoms”, underlines the nurse. This is also the reason that pushed Delphine Baraban, 54 years old and identified at risk. “We still hear quite a bit that the flu this year is quite virulent,” she explains to theAFP.

In addition, a “vaccibus”, a bus equipped with everything necessary to vaccinate, was put on the roads. Tuesday, for his first day of activity, he accompanied a maraude to try to vaccinate homeless people, while intervening in senior residences that requested him. On Wednesday, due to freezing rain in Meurthe-et-Moselle, the “vaccibus” was not able to circulate, but the private nurse in charge of the system went to meet people wishing to be vaccinated. “Normally, private nurses can vaccinate their patients. There, they vaccinate all those who request it” at home for people who cannot travel, explains Nathalie Viard.

“Vaccination is today the first shield against the disease, which is experiencing particular virulence this year,” recalls the Métropole du Grand Nancy in a joint press release with the Regional Health Agency and the CHRU.

Last week, France recorded 611 flu-related deaths. The situation varies depending on the region: if, at the national level, these deaths represent 7.3% of deaths declared by electronic certificate, their share rises to 9.4% in the Grand Est, in second position behind Burgundy-Franche- County (12.4%).

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