For the National Ethics Committee, the obligation to vaccinate caregivers is only “legitimate” in “crisis”

The obligation to vaccinate caregivers may “be legitimate” in the event of a health crisis that potentially compromises the health system, estimated this Tuesday the National Ethics Advisory Committee (CCNE), which favors the simple “recommendation” in a current context .

At the end of March, the High Authority for Health (HAS) had issued a favorable opinion on the lifting of the Covid vaccination obligation for caregivers, followed immediately by the government authorizing the return of unvaccinated staff.

Various prevention tools.

The government had also requested the opinion of the CCNE, consulted last November by the Minister of Health on the issue of the obligation of vaccination for health professionals and professionals working in the health and medical-social sectors.

In this 54-page advisory opinion, published this Tuesday, the Ethics Committee recalls that protecting patients is “a great imperative for caregivers” and that vaccination cannot be considered the only prevention tool, but that other tools must be implemented measures such as the use of a mask or ventilation. .

It also distinguishes two situations: the “current” context and a “health crisis” context.

“In the event of a health crisis that could endanger the health system”, in the presence of a solid scientific corpus that guarantees the efficacy (even moderate) and the safety of the vaccine in question, he considers that the political decision to decide on a vaccine mandatory for caregivers “may be legitimate”.

The recommendation in the absence of crisis

On the other hand, “in the current context”, the CCNE favors the use of simple “vaccination recommendations”, except for vaccines that have demonstrated a very high benefit-risk ratio, such as hepatitis B, which may continue to be mandatory.

“We clearly distinguish a period of crisis, in which an obligatory political decision can be made, and a period of non-crisis, in which we must try to go through the simple recommendation,” the president of the CCNE, Jean . -Francois Delfraissy.

Clearly, the question of the obligation to vaccinate caregivers can only be raised “as a last resort”.

The ethics committee also encourages caregivers to resume “the vaccination discussion.” “We need more information on this subject, so as not to leave this issue taboo,” Jean-François Delfraissy reported.