Illustration of a person getting vaccinated. – M.Libert / 20 Minutes
- Vaccination coverage in Hauts-de-France is one of the highest in France.
- Despite a dense network of vaccination sites, access to the vaccine remains difficult for some residents.
- The region and the ARS will set up shuttles to vaccination centers and mobile vaccinodromes.
If you can’t get through to the vaccine, the vaccine will come to you. On Saturday, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) took stock of the vaccine situation against the coronavirus epidemic in Hauts-de-France. The authority underlines a “particularly dynamic” rhythm in the region, which will be further accentuated thanks to the establishment of systems for people far from vaccination centers.
Between early March and Friday, “973,299 people received at least one injection and 297,156 people are fully vaccinated,” says the ARS. In Lille, for example, nearly all nursing home residents (92%) received their two doses of vaccine. Across the region, 16.3% of residents received at least one dose. A figure slightly higher than the national average established at 15.7%.
Mobile shuttles and vaccinodromes
According to the ARS, there are currently 157 vaccination sites in Hauts-de-France, distributed so that half of the inhabitants are “less than 20 minutes by car from a vaccination center,” says the ‘Agency.
However, snowshoe holes remain, especially in the more rural areas. There is also the problem of people not being able to make their own way to the consultation. The regional council has therefore decided to make 100 buses available to provide shuttles to the vaccination centers. However, it is not known when and how this service will be organized.
The region has also offered the loan of 15 minibuses to, conversely, transport the vaccinators to the most remote areas. This fifteen mobile teams will complete the 16 already in service in Aisne, Oise, Nord and Pas-de-Calais.