Mandatory vaccination: 3,000 non jabbed French health staff suspended

Some 3,000 healthcare workers have been suspended for not being fully vaccinated, according to France’s Health Minister.

Read more: Health workers must be vaccinated from today or risk suspension

Workers in hospitals, care homes, home help and the fire, gendarmerie and ambulance services have from yesterday (September 15) been obliged to be fully vaccinated against Covid, facing unpaid suspensions for breach of contract if they fail to comply.

President Emmanuel Macron announced the imposition of ‘mandatory vaccination’ for certain professions in July, giving health workers two months to receive both of their doses.

Staff are only exempt if they have a medical condition exempting them from vaccination, or if they have recently had Covid and have been unable to get vaccinated.

This obligation concerns “about 2.7million employees,” said Olivier Véran on RTL this morning (September 16), adding that “the continuity of care provision was assured.

“A large number of these suspensions are only temporary,” and generally concern “support staff,” “with very few white coats [doctors]” concerned.

“Many of them have decided to get vaccinated, having seen that the obligation is a reality.”

Mr Véran added that there have also been a few dozen people dismissed from their posts so far.

According to Santé Publique France, by September 12 89.3% of carers in residential homes for the elderly had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Leading university hospital trust L’Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) has reported 340 suspensions so far. Sanctions are proving more common in the south, with 450 suspensions in Nice’s CHU hospital and 100 in Perpignan.

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