At the vaccination center set up in the Max-Fourestier hospital in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), the premises are desperately empty. And for good reason. In this popular commune of 97,000 inhabitants, those over 75 who want to be vaccinated will have to wait. Because Nanterre should not receive any dose of vaccine for the coming week. What made Patrick Jarry, the mayor (DVG) jump, was to note that, in the neighboring upscale municipalities, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Issy-les-Moulineaux or Boulogne-Billancourt, the vaccination centers did not not slowed down their activity. Until now, the 13 centers in Hauts-de-Seine have each received 420 doses. “However, last week, Nanterre had zero and Neuilly 540”, don’t get upset Patrick Jarry. “This morning, the departmental director of the regional health agency explained to me that the ARS had asked all vaccination centers not to make an appointment in anticipation of the drop in the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine. Neuilly would not have executed the injunction? What does it mean ? When you don’t follow the rules, are you rewarded? “ storm the elect. Which states that, “In the week, the ARS had asked to deprogram meetings”. He does not budge: some cities would be better off than others. So, to be sure, he asked the prefect to make public the number of people vaccinated city by city. “To the shortage of vaccines, let’s not add injustice! “ he says.
Digital divide, excess mortality
Especially since here, as in many other popular cities, the elderly are not always mobile and the digital divide is hitting hard. However, appointments are made on the Internet. “We should organize mobile brigades to go to the neighborhoods”, insists the mayor. In Seine-Saint-Denis, it was the president of the departmental council who sounded the alarm a few days ago, in the face of the few people vaccinated. The 93, where 17 vaccination centers were opened, posted the sad record of the least vaccinated department in the metropolis … “This shows that the social inequalities, the digital divides that we are experiencing in Seine-Saint-Denis also have an impact in this health crisis”, explains Stéphane Troussel (PS) on the web page of the departmental council. Especially since, to register on the Web for an appointment, no need to mention his city of origin. Parisians, faced with the saturation of the capital’s vaccination centers, rushed to the cities of the inner suburbs: Saint-Ouen, Montreuil, La Courneuve … To the detriment of those who do not master the computer tool or who are lacking.
In Saint-Ouen, more than 50% of patients come from other municipalities. At La Courneuve, the rate reaches 80%. Of course, the virus has no borders. “Except that the fragile populations of our cities have found themselves behind the scenes”, tackle Gilles Poux, the mayor (PCF) of La Courneuve. Stéphane Troussel is convinced of this: “We must do otherwise, change the method: put telephone platforms, buses that go to the municipalities or go through home helpers, so that they can vaccinate. “
Even if Seine-Saint-Denis has “only” 80,000 people over 75, the urgency here is very real. Between March 2 and May 10, 2020, during the first wave of the epidemic, deaths jumped + 110% (i.e. more than doubled) compared to the average observed between 2015 and 2019 , a record in France. “People who are obese, diabetic or suffering from cardiovascular diseases, but also those who cannot telecommute or who are overcrowded in their accommodation, are particularly exposed to Covid, notes a doctor from the Avicenne hospital in Bobigny. However, in Seine-Saint-Denis, they are much more numerous than elsewhere. “ We know: the virus has only exacerbated social inequalities. And, today, it is access to the vaccine that could prove to be unfair and inequitable for a whole segment of the population.
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