Remember, in turmoil, as Covid-19 vaccines were not approved yet, and that news on the vaccination campaign were in the air, the French government announced the creation of a group of citizens to accompany the vaccination campaign in France.
All in all, 35 people have been randomly selected to halt the Frecnh's mistrust. This group, including 18 women and 17 men from all regions, ages, socio-professional categories, and with different opinions about vaccination have been heard by the Conseil Economique Social et Environnemental (CESE - the Economic, Social and Environmental Council), alongside experts, including doctors, mayors, associations, pharmaceutical companies, and even a lawyer. Besides, the French were able to ask questions on a special platform devoted to citizen consultation.
Thanks to these hearings and interviews, the CESE has delivered their first recommendations this Tuesday February 23, 2021. Climax for the success of vaccination: communication and clear and summarized infos. To do so, the CESE recommends to create "on the initiative of the public authorities" a phone reception hub to people looking for infos, and one website gathering all infos and knowledge on the Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The council goes even further and asks the government to respond to fake news "spreading on social networks, and online chats", and to spread positive messages.
Interviewed by the CESE, the group also recommends to communicate the new vaccination places "as soon as the number of doses enables it", and to urge health professionals to use digital appointment hubs "to schedule patient flows depending on vaccine deliveries". For people in the most precarious situations, and those unable to travel easily, they recommend to generalize traveling units to reach these people willing to get vaccinated, and have local associations stepping in.
As for logistics and shortage risk, the CESE recommends to anticipate different supplying and distribution scenarios, as well as making the logistic chain performance indicators public "as part of a continuous progress approach". They also recommend to request vaccine manufacturing licenses, "by putting efforts on the increase of fitting industrial means".
The group of French citizens and experts will be interviewed again for a third session on March 11, 12, and 13, 2021. Their recommendations will therefore follow.
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