“We went from 30-40 people a day in June to 400 to 500 now. As soon as we reopen a meeting slot, it is taken in stride. It’s incredible. “Auguste Beliard, local pharmacist in Nantes, cannot get over this” very exceptional “month of August. Since the establishment of health pass on July 21 and, above all, since its extension on Monday, the pharmacy has been inundated with requests for antigenic tests. And she is far from the only one. All the pharmacies in Nantes offering Covid screening are seeing the same phenomenon.
“We obviously expected a peak in activity but not at this point. We test people of all ages but it is still mainly young people, unvaccinated or waiting for a second dose, who want to go out or travel. We even see some who had never been tested before, ”testifies the Nantes Children’s Pharmacy.
To cope, the store has hired students and dedicates six to seven employees to this mission. The tests, valid for 72 hours as part of the health pass, are carried out in a chalet installed on the sidewalk, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. non-stop. “We only take by appointment via Doctolib, otherwise it is unmanageable. There are also over 200 calls per day to be answered for information on testing. “
“People are not very concerned about the result”
In a large pharmacy in downtown Nantes, people also admit to being “overwhelmed by demand”. “We have an appointment every three minutes since last weekend. The slots are going faster and faster. Frankly, we can’t do more with our workforce. We must also pay attention to the flow and waiting in the premises, ”explains Françoise, responsible for the pharmacy. Customers in a hurry who cannot get an appointment are referred to the labs for a PCR test, “but they themselves are overloaded.”
“There are urgent requests, a contact case for example, but above all a lot of comfort, to go to the cinema or to a restaurant. Unlike in previous months, people are not very concerned about the outcome. They clearly come to leave with a QR code. For me, we no longer do sanitation, ”laments a professional from Nantes.
“We would like to do without it, but if we want to take advantage of the holidays, even if only to go to the swimming pool with the family for example, we don’t really have a choice”, testifies Elise, who came to be screened and recovered. the precious sesame. “My second injection is scheduled for the end of August,” testifies her husband. I know that I will have to do other tests by then, for travel in particular. I can’t wait to get it over with. “
A queue of 30 people
The pressure on testing is such that some pharmacies, which did not offer it before, have decided to get started. “This relieves the colleagues and brings in a new clientele,” explains Flavien, responsible for the Pharmacy at the center. We are one of the few to accept without an appointment. A queue is therefore formed in front of the shop, surrounded by summer work. “Sometimes there are up to 30 people. But it’s going well for now. We will try to hold on as long as possible like that. “
Professionals expect demand to slow down in September “when the vaccination rate has increased”. And, above all, in October with the end of reimbursement for tests (except medical prescription). In the meantime, at the Pharmacie de Paris, Françoise admits a “saturation”. “We have been adjusting for months, like other professions, and we do not always feel recognition from the public. The authorities ask a lot of us. Now these are the self-tests that should be proposed. We will not do them. These self-tests require support and we are already at our maximum. “