PARIS (AP) – The main stadium in the French city of Lyon opened as a mass vaccination center over the Easter weekend, and thousands spent the holiday lining up for injections at racetracks, velodromes or elsewhere while France tried accelerate vaccines amid a new wave of coronavirus cases.
But as Europe celebrated its second consecutive Easter under the cloud of the pandemic, some cities suspended vaccination during the extended holiday – defying the insistence of French President Emmanuel Macron that “there are no weekends or days off during vaccination”.
Health professionals need to “finally get some rest,” said an official in the French city of Strasbourg, who closed vaccination facilities from Good Friday until Easter Monday, a holiday. To ensure that residents still have access to potentially life-saving vaccines, Strasbourg expanded the vaccination schedule and managed its entire weekly dose of doses between last Monday and Thursday, the official said.
Spain, Italy and Germany faced a challenge similar to vaccination on vacation.
The Spaniards lined up for injections on Easter Sunday in Barcelona and elsewhere in the country, but Madrid suspended vaccinations at local health centers to give staff a break. The Spanish capital continued to shoot at a football stadium and the construction of a new hospital to help treat pandemic cases.
With Spain fearing yet another outbreak of infections, like the one that is dominating French intensive care wards, Spain’s Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, asked regional authorities to maintain vaccinations during Easter week.
The French city of Sarcelles, north of Paris, was among those whose vaccination center remained open on Easter Sunday, amid growing demand and infections. The center’s organizers planned to inject 2,000 doses on Sunday – double their daily average.
Those who waited to enter felt lucky and relieved. The region around Val d’Oise now has the highest rate of coronavirus infection in France, and the situation in Sarcelles symbolizes how the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities.
“The problem is with people who have not yet qualified and are in a hurry, which I understand because they want to return to a normal life,” said Dr. Majida El Mokhtari. “Unfortunately, we cannot vaccinate everyone with the doses that are distributed to us.”
Working-class residents in the city have greater exposure to the virus because many are unable to work remotely. In housing projects in the area, many families have several generations living in nearby neighborhoods. Language barriers make the choice of vaccination arrangements a challenge for many immigrants.
In Lyon, France’s first division football club, Olympique Lyon, opened its stadium and provided volunteer staff to assist medical workers and firefighters with a mass vaccination campaign that began on Saturday. The authorities plan to administer 3,000 doses per day for the first three days.
Club president Jean Michel Aulas expressed hope that the effort will help create “social cohesion” at a time of tension and uncertainty, when France entered a third partial blockade starting on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the French military has announced that it will open seven vaccination centers as of Tuesday to help inject civilians.
In Italy, anyone who was lucky enough to get vaccinated in Milan on Sunday received an extra reward: a dove-shaped Easter cake and packages of pasta. Only one hospital in the city administered vaccines at Easter, according to Italian media. Among those who administered the injections at Milan’s Niguarda Hospital, there were retired doctors who donated their time.
“We are just making our contribution to this important battle” against COVID-19, Dr. Vincenzo Rapisarda told SkyTG24 TV.
German vaccination centers appeared to remain open mainly during the holiday, but the number of injections is usually slower on weekends.
The accelerated actions of Easter in some countries of the European Union contrasted with the slow start of the distribution of vaccines in Europe during Christmas and New Year.
Although France remains far behind Britain and the United States in terms of vaccinating its population, the pace is starting to pick up. France has administered 12 million doses of vaccine in total, including almost 1 million in the last three days.
Spanish authorities are accelerating vaccination efforts with the arrival of 2 million doses last week, the largest batch so far. Spain administered 8.5 million doses until Friday.
Across the Channel, British authorities plan to test a series of measures, including “coronavirus status certifications” in the coming weeks, to see if they can allow people to safely return to mass meetings in sports stadiums, nightclubs and shows.
Participants in a series of events, including conferences and the FA Cup, will need to be tested before and after. The tests will also gather evidence on how ventilation and different approaches to social detachment can allow major events to occur.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to give more details about coronavirus passports on Monday.
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Cetinic contributed from Sarcelles, France. Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Frances D’Emilio in Rome, Sylvia Hui in London and David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed.
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