REPORTAGE. “I will not give in, I will not be vaccinated” against Covid-19: in Toulon, mobile caregivers – franceinfo

“On September 15, we won’t see you at Sainte-Musse anymore, right?”, asks Amélie a protester, referring to the date from which caregivers must have received at least their first dose of vaccine against Covid-19. “I don’t know yet, I haven’t made up my mind”, answers the nurse, who is demonstrating against the health pass, Saturday, August 14, Place de la Liberté in Toulon, white coat on the back and the city’s public hospital badge on the chest.

“I find that we do not have enough perspective on this vaccine, I was waiting for the one from Sanofi, but I did not have the time”, explains the caregiver, who adds: “I felt rage and disappointment when I heard Emmanuel Macron’s speech in July.” The one where the obligation of a complete vaccination for the nursing staff from October 15 at the latest was announced. “I am not against the vaccine, I am for freedom”, says the young woman.

Like her, some 22,000 demonstrators, according to the count of the Ministry of the Interior, marched in the streets of the prefecture of Var, chanting this word of “freedom”, to show their opposition to the extension of the health pass to many places of daily life, including the hospital. In the Toulon conurbation, which has around ten clinics and hospitals, there are many caregivers. Among them, some have trod the pavement to shout their anger against this new sesame, but also their mistrust of vaccines against Covid-19.

The crowd is now entering Roosevelt Avenue, alongside the Mayol stadium, home of the @RCTofficiel # manif14aout pic.twitter.com/4x08djoKr5

– Charles-Edouard Ama Koffi (@Camakoffi) August 14, 2021

“I do not believe at all in the effectiveness of this vaccine, asserts Ophélie. The 31-year-old nurse, who works in a health establishment in Hyères, demonstrates by holding up a sign “Committee of public safety”, an evocation of the French Revolution and the period of the Terror. “For me, this vaccine is deadly because it causes serious heart problems, especially for young people”, argues the protester

Cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have certainly been reported in several countries, including the United States, but even if the World Health Organization has recognized a link “likely” between the injection of certain vaccines against Covid-19 and these rare heart problems, she ensured that the benefits of the vaccination outweighed the risks.

For Ophélie, the click took place on July 12, after the speech of the President of the Republic. “Like everyone else, I fell from fifteen floors. I found it very violent and I had the feeling of not being understood.” The nursing assistant then makes her decision: “I will not have a salary from September 15th, but I won’t give in, I won’t get vaccinated. ”

At his side, Fabienne, a caregiver in a neighboring town, is offended by the introduction of the health pass in health establishments. “There are people with cancers who are refused at the hospital, she says. It is a deprivation of individual and collective liberty for the government to control us. “

“Vaccinated! Or not vaccinated! We want to treat you!”, Proclaims the sign held by a demonstrator who wishes to be called “Mandy”. For this health executive at the Hyères hospital center, this pass was too much. “This health pass destroyed me, I had the impression that our freedoms were violated “, she confides, as the demonstration ends at the end of the afternoon.

Although reluctant, she received her two doses of the vaccine. A real injury, testifies “Mandy”. “I did this vaccination reluctantly, she laments. I lived it so badly that I had to have a psychological follow-up to accept it “, says the health executive. According to her, this manifestation also serves her as therapy. “It makes me feel good to be here and to see this solidarity. It gives me a boost to continue doing this job that I love.”