Paris: Between March and June 2020, 25% of French people were unwilling to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This number rose to 55% in December 2020, according to the French Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). Now roughly 30% of French people do not feel like getting a shot.
Since January 2021, vaccine hesitancy seems to slowly but steadily falling in France. But people remain nervous. Many are rejecting the AstraZeneca vaccine and would rather opt for the Pfizer shots.
“Just because there are supply problems does not mean we should disregard vaccine refusal. Not enough people are willing to receive an AstraZeneca injection,” says Jeremy Ward, a sociologist at the Inserm.
“This fear is unjustified and the government has a huge responsibility in this. There was important miscommunication about the AstraZeneca vaccine in France,” says Djillali Annane, head of the reanimation department of the Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches.
Emmanuel Macron had suspended the AstraZeneca vaccine for a few days in March before reversing his decision, but “it was already too late. It’s an aberration”, says Annane.
Since May 12, the vaccination campaign is open for all people over the age of 18, regardless of their health conditions.
“We’re vaccinating the wrong people,” argues Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Paris. The young people, less vulnerable, are getting vaccinated the most. According to Kierzek, “It would be preferable to ensure an excellent immunity for the populations at risk”, such as people over 65, obese people and people over 50 with co-morbidities.
Since the pandemic began, France has often been referred to as the world champion of anti-vaccines in the media, especially after the release of the Ipsos study in October 2020.
“The government was afraid of anti-vaxers at the end of 2020, hence their very conservative strategy of vaccinating the oldest and most fragile first,” says Annane.
Yet, according to Ward, only around 2% of the French would actually be ‘anti-vax’, which is “not more than elsewhere”.
For Ward, the debate lacks semantic clarity. The term “anti-vax” refers to “those who refuse all sorts of vaccinations”. However, “the bulk of defensive attitudes, vaccine hesitancy, doubts or resistance are due to a concern about specific components, not vaccines in general.” French citizens who are reluctant to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should not all be considered “anti-vax”, in his opinion.
“A distinction has to be made, people are mostly falsely pigeonholed. The term “anti-vax” often sounds like an insult associated with conspiracy theorists. While [in reality,] a large portion of the population is simply apprehensive about the COVID-19 vaccine,” Ward explains.
“I’ll never get an anti-COVID-19 vaccine,” says Maryline, 41 years old. She believes that if no vaccine for AIDS or cancer has been found in decades, it seems insane that a viable anti-COVID-19 vaccine has been found in six months.
For her, the French lack critical thinking skills: “People prefer to tell themselves that the government is taking care of us. When we oppose the government’s announcements about COVID-19, they call us conspiracy theorists, it’s easier.”
Guillaume, 38 years old, has made his decision. “I will never be vaccinated against COVID-19. I am not “anti-vax”, all my other vaccines are up to date, same goes on for my children. But like many people, I demand studies on aluminium adjuvants.”
David, 46, agrees. “My only fear is that we don’t have any hindsight, there are risks. As long as I can avoid getting vaccinated, I won’t go for an injection.”
Some vaccines contain aluminium adjuvants. “Refusing COVID-19 vaccine because of aluminium adjuvants means you’ve been wrongly informed. Again, it should be the responsibility of the government to avoid that and make sure that people are properly informed,” says Annane.
“Many other countries are doubtful, such as Russia, Japan or Eastern countries. The French are very hesitant because France is one of the rare countries where there have been several public debates on vaccines since 2010,” Ward adds. In 2018, the public debates on vaccines were so significant that the ministry had to react by introducing mandatory vaccination.
The Stade de France, vaccination centre, St Denis. Photo: Aline Duchêne
For a segment of the population, notably those under 45, COVID-19 is not always perceived as dangerous. “In France, the reluctance toward vaccination seems more to reflect a distrust towards the government’s management of the crisis and health authorities,” says Ward.
“When there are divergences between the High Authority for Health, the scientific committee and the president, it creates uncertainty that can be disturbing for hesitant people,” explains Annane.
This hesitation not often observed in Israel or in England where the vaccine policy was clear from the start. “In France, the vaccination strategy has been changed about ten times,” he adds.
“The government’s misleading information about the cures is the main reason why I refuse to be vaccinated. To date, there is no proof that the vaccine prevents infection. The vaccines are still in the testing phase, the side effects are very alarming,” says Guillaume.
However, some people change their minds through necessity. “I was convinced that I was invincible, it was out of question for me to be vaccinated, before I caught COVID-19,” says Yann, 54. After being sick for a few weeks last March and a quick visit to the hospital, he recovered.
But he was worried. “I’ve heard that people have died in only two weeks, I realise that it is dangerous.” So he decided to get vaccinated soon, but still has some fears. “I’ve always been reluctant to get vaccinated but I’m changing my mind, I’m not obstinate.”
David’s father, who was very reluctant to be vaccinated, has also changed his mind. “My father is physically fragile so he had the first Pfizer injection. Everything went well, it reassured him.”
“Too little has been done in terms of communication campaigns. A lot of local campaigns are successful, but nothing is driven from the top. There hasn’t been much effort to coordinate it all,” says Ward. Annane too shares this opinion.
Another concern is coming with the announcement of a ‘health passport’. A health pass could be introduced on June 9 in France for entrance to certain public places (stadiums, festivals, fairs, exhibitions).”If it prevents us from doing certain activities because we are not vaccinated, we will continue to do things at home. It’s hard but we’re getting used to it,” says Maryline.
For Guillaume, the health passport is “unjustified and unrealistic blackmail”. And he doesn’t seem to be about to change his mind. “They will try to impose a Chinese-style technocratic state on us but they will surely fail. If you have to take an experimental vaccine to be free, you are already a slave!”
Annane is not optimistic either: “The major problem in France is that there is not enough collective work, we do not all strive to go in the same direction, it is counter-productive. It’s like attempting to win the Tour de France when the whole team isn’t riding in the same direction.”
Aline Duchêne is an MA in Bilingual Journalism (French/English) at La Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris and an intern at The Wire.