Vice World News: How France Became the Global Centre of Vaccine Resistance
Stock image Hakan Nural
Jan. 21, 2021
PARIS – In the international race to vaccinate as much of the world’s population as possible against COVID-19, France is set to be one of the last countries in Europe to cross the finish line.
Between a sluggish start to the vaccination campaign and an exceptionally high level of vaccine scepticism within the French population, France has fallen to the back of the pack, with the gulf between it and its neighbours widening every week.
Despite having all started their vaccination campaigns at around the same time, Dec. 27, France is miles behind Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain. As of the 21st of January, the total number of vaccine doses per 100 people in France stands at 0.74. That compares to 1.46 for Germany, 1.98 for Italy, 2.07 for Spain.
In absolute numbers, that translates to 692,777 people in France who received their first jab so far. Meanwhile, Italy crossed the one million threshold last week. And in the UK, which was the first country in the West to approve the coronavirus vaccine and begin vaccinating its general population, 4.6 million people have received their first dose.
Critics have blasted the French government for its glacial pace, describing its vaccination rollout as excessively bureaucratic and disorganised. And some accuse politicians of being too willing to pander to vaccine sceptics, who make up an exceptionally large percentage of the French electorate.
For history buffs, the notion that France would emerge the most resistant to getting the coronavirus vaccine in a global poll of 15 countries may seem baffling, given that vaccines were pioneered and developed by Frenchman Louis Pasteur. But in an Ipsos-World Economic Forum survey released at the end of December, just 40 percent of French respondents said they would get vaccinated , compared to 77 percent of people in the UK.
Experts say a series of public health scandals, a deep-seated distrust of the government, a feeble understanding of the sciences, and a dash of contrarian Gallic defiance are among some of the reasons the French have become so resistant to the vaccine.
More at https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjpxwx/how-france-became-the-global-centre-of-vaccine-resistance
