Under the tent of the mobile clinic set up by Médecins sans frontières (MSF) in the 19e district of Paris, Sadar, a 33-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, has just received his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. “I had the Pfizer. I follow the news and it is this vaccine that I wanted ”, he rejoices while waiting for the fifteen minutes of observation following the injection to pass. Around him, other Afghans are also waiting to be vaccinated.
All live in the building opposite, an exhibition center located near the Porte de la Villette, which has been welcoming migrants for several months without an accommodation solution. The day before, MSF teams went to raise awareness in order to explain that the vaccine was free and accessible to all. “I did it for myself and to protect others”, Sadar said. In just a few minutes, the mobile clinic allows people without social security to be vaccinated and to make an appointment for the second dose.
Since the beginning of June, the health authorities and associations in the field, such as MSF and the Red Cross, have started a vaccination campaign targeting the populations furthest from the health services, both people homeless and those who live in collective housing structures. Friday evening June 25, associations identified 706 people who received a first injection in Paris and in the departments of the inner suburbs.
Bruno Morel, the president of Emmaüs Solidarité – which manages marauding, day centers and accommodation centers -, analyzes this number as a “Clear evolution”. “Our indicators, which were very worrying in March, are recovering”, he explains. At this stage, however, the stakes remain immense: in total, according to figures from the Ministry of Health, more than 350,000 people, whether French or foreign, are identified as living on the street, in a squats, in emergency accommodation or in accommodation reserved for asylum seekers.
Inevitable promiscuity
When the vaccination campaign was launched in January, the associations demanded, in vain, the placement of people in a very precarious situation on the list of priority audiences. Only residents of migrant workers’ homes over the age of 60 could be vaccinated as of February. For the others, it was necessary to follow the classic vaccination schedule, according to the age and co-morbidity criteria defined at the national level. Gold, “Homeless people generally do not reach 55 years of age. They were forgotten by the pandemic and the vaccination ”, says Cristiana Castro, Covid activity manager in Ile-de-France for MSF.
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