300,000 doses of the vaccine have arrived in the Grand East since December

Expected by many, the first vaccines against Covid-19 are about to arrive in France, especially in the Grand East. “We expect the first deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in December, announces the prefect of Marne, Pierre N’Gahane, then the Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines will be delivered in January. “

The first people to receive the vaccine were identified. “Healthcare workers will be vaccinated as a priority”, announces the prefect. This concerns all those who work in hospitals, in accommodation facilities for non self-sufficient elderly people (Ehpad), in medical-social structures, or even in city doctors.

They will receive the American-German product Pfizer-BioNTech, which 300,000 doses are planned in the region.

In January, vaccines from the American company Moderna and the Swedish-British duo AstraZeneca will follow, for the so-called “Fragile”, specifies the delegate of the regional health agency, Thierry Alibert. “Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines will be administered in January to the elderly and people with health problems, including obese people. (who can declare very serious forms of Covid-19, ed). “

This information was passed on Wednesday evening by the ARS Directorate-General to local officials. “All are now suspended from the opinion of the High Authority for Healthsays Alibert. We are at the starting blocks, we know the main lines of the system. “

A “super freezer” to store 300,000 doses at -80 ºC

Among these: on the one hand, vaccination of the general public is not initially envisaged; on the other hand, unlike vaccination against influenza A (H1N1), the vaccine can be administered by doctors and pharmacists.

There remains the big question of the delivery and especially the conservation of the vaccine, in particular that of Pfizer-BioNTech. It really imposes itself “Drastic storage limits, at -80 ºC”, emphasizes the prefect of Marne.

“The 300,000 doses that will gradually arrive in December will be stored in a sort of ‘super-freezer’, which will be located either in Strasbourg, or in Metz, or in Nancy”, explains Thierry Alibert.

From there, thousands of doses will be transported to each territory. “The University Hospital of Reims will have a medium-sized freezer and will be able to store the doses of the vaccines that are administered to it. “Doctors and pharmacists can be delivered “Provided they have a sufficient freezer to store them”.