Non-vaccinated caregivers reinstated due to lack of staff? No it is wrong

“We have a large understaffing, we remind the suspended caregivers. Here is what several videos shared on social networks claim in recent days. The Internet users at the origin of these present themselves as caregivers, suspended for having refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The wave of suspension began in September 2021. It had also been the source of riots in Guadeloupe at the end of last year.

For these caregivers who have not been able to practice their profession for several months: “They are making fun of us. They turned their backs on us and left with nothing. Now that they need us, we should be at their disposal! Reinstating caregivers suspended for this reason was a key measure in Marine Le Pen’s program during the presidential election. Since Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected, what is really happening today? 20 minutes make the point.

FAKE OFF

If the question has come back to the table in recent days, it is because this Monday marks the end of wearing a mask in one of the last places where it was still in force: transport. Some see it as an injustice: “Non-vaccinated caregivers still cannot work, but the mask is removed everywhere. »

“Legally nothing is planned for the moment. During the election campaign, Macron indicated that things could change, and Veran must seek the opinion of the HAS, ”explains the National Union of Nursing Professionals (SNPI) to 20 minutes.

Indeed, on the subject Emmanuel Macron has not closed the doors. Traveling to the Hautes-Pyrénées at the end of April, the President declared: “We will go in this direction”, provided that we are no longer in the “acute phase of the epidemic”. But Olivier Véran, Minister of Health a week ago, did an about-face, saying: “The (vaccination) obligation remains in force for caregivers. “To argue his decision, he highlighted the number of new daily cases: 5,936 for this Monday, May 16. The High Authority for Health affirms to 20 minutes not to have been seized on this subject at the present time.

A potential reintegration that is debating

Of course, it is possible for a caregiver to return to duty if they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 since the suspension. But, according to what she says, this is not the case of the caregiver who speaks on the TikTok video. She clearly explains that she does not want to be vaccinated. And even if the compulsory pass for health personnel were abolished, she would not return to practice this profession.

For some, this reintegration of professionals makes sense because of the decrease in the number of contaminations, and the lower circulation of the epidemic. “The evolution of the epidemic makes it reasonable to reinstate people who wish to do so, but obviously without paying retroactively,” explained oncologist Jérôme Barrièreon Twitter.

For others, we must not forget that if they can no longer work it is to protect patients, but also to protect them themselves. “What I saw in my hospital is that the number of contaminations of caregivers before and after the vaccine is day and night! “, confided an HRD of a major hospital to 20 minutes.

Note that according to the ministry, 0.6% of caregivers were suspended last September. And that does not take into account those who have since been reinstated due to their vaccination. During a hearing before the Senate on October 26, Olivier Véran explained that “two-thirds of caregivers suspended for lack of vaccination returned to work once vaccinated”.